jim-dandy

The new car is a real jim-dandy.

Definition

1. Noun (informal, chiefly American English):

   • An excellent or outstanding person or thing: "jim-dandy" refers to someone or something that is remarkably good, superior, or impressive within its category.
   • Example: That new smartphone is a real jim-dandy — it has the best camera on the market.

2. Adjective (informal, chiefly American English):

   • Of the highest quality; excellent: used to describe something that is exceptionally fine, first-rate, or outstanding.
   • Example: We had a jim-dandy time at the carnival last night.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He’s a jim-dandy on the basketball court — always scores the winning points. (An outstanding player.)
  • This recipe is a jim-dandy for chocolate cake; everyone loves it. (An excellent recipe.)

• Adjective:

  • She gave a jim-dandy performance in the school play. (An outstanding performance.)
  • That’s a jim-dandy idea for saving money on groceries. (A very good idea.)

Advanced Usage

• "a jim-dandy of a [noun]": A colloquial pattern meaning "an excellent example of something."
  • We had a jim-dandy of a storm last night — the strongest one this year. (An exceptionally powerful storm.)
• "jim-dandy" as a standalone exclamation: Sometimes used to express approval or excitement.
  • "How was the movie?" "Jim-dandy!" (It was great.)

Variants and Related Words

• Jim-dandy (n, adj): No common variants exist; the word is rarely used in other forms. It may be hyphenated as "jim-dandy" or written as one word "jimdandy" in some older texts.

Synonyms

• Excellent (adj): extremely good; outstanding.
  • The concert was excellent.
• First-rate (adj): of the best quality.
  • This is a first-rate restaurant.
• Top-notch (adj): of the highest standard.
  • Her work is always top-notch.

Related Idioms

• The cat's meow: (slang, dated) something excellent or admirable.
  • That new car is the cat's meow.
• The bee's knees: (slang, dated) an outstanding person or thing.
  • He thinks he’s the bee’s knees, but he’s just average.

Phrasal Verbs

• None. "Jim-dandy" is not used in phrasal verb constructions.