tacky

tacky

Cheap, crude, and unrefined; indicating or characteristic of a lack of class, elegance, or sophistication. He showed up in a really tacky suit. Their food is actually really good, I just think their decorations are a bit tacky.

ticky-tacky

1. noun Any cheap, shoddy material, especially used in construction. Judging from how little soundproofing there is in this building, I'd say they made the walls out of ticky-tacky.
2. adjective Consisting of or constructed from such cheap or shoddy materials. The company threw up a couple ticky-tacky bungalows so the crew could live on-site until the work was finished.
3. adjective Mediocre or unimaginative in design, appearance, or style. They've been building row after row of ticky-tacky houses about 20 minutes from the city off the interstate. They're so cookie-cutter in design that they're actually a little depressing to look at.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

tacky

1. mod. cheap; crude. That was a tacky thing to do to her.
2. mod. alcohol intoxicated. Tom was a little tacky, so he gave me his car keys.

ticky-tacky

(ˈtɪkitæki)
n. cheap and shabby material. Those houses are just made of ticky-tacky, and they won’t even be here in twenty years.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • tackhead
  • piss elegant
  • piss-elegant
  • the masses
  • class
  • a rough diamond
  • rough diamond
  • rough as bags
  • swank
  • woolly
References in periodicals archive
In a study by Mississippi State University's Gaited Locomotive Research Program, it was found that the Marsh Tacky has a unique gait, named the "Swamp Fox Trot," which contributes to its ability to be worked or ridden all day without either the horse or rider tiring.
REVIVING THE Marsh Tacky: Known for its big heart and can-do attitude, this critically endangered horse breed is hoofing its way to a comeback after near extinction
Tacky Jacks also places importance on tourism, keeping close ties with the Tourism Bureau of Gulf Shores/Orange Beach.
One of Orange Beach Restaurants Receives Business Leadership Award
GENTLE READER: That you fail to understand what is traditional and what is tacky.
Baby announcement is not a command to purchase supplies
With a face like that, a striking personality and a well- built body, we wish the superstar gives up this bland and tacky dressing for something more fashionable and edgy.
Sallu's fashion sense is Bigg Loss
Honestly, a limo picking up kids in front of school where all the other families can see - TACKY!
Limo for the school run: what are parents trying to prove?
He will be remembered but not for something interesting, but for a tacky, crummy and miserable move," Korovesovska Comments.
Prometheus does not drink "schnapps"
The screens have proved controversial, with critics claiming they will turn Birmingham's roadways into cheap and tacky Las Vegas-style strips.
New billboards are PS1.3m box office bonanza
Pop star Lady Gaga has shown that celeb nudity can be arty rather than tacky after unveiling her nude billboard for her fragrance, Fame.
Lady Gaga Unveils Nude Billboard: Stars who Pose Naked - Tastefully
3M Innovation Properties has patented a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition having improved initial tack (generally, the pressure-sensitive adhesive composition comprises (1) a carboxylic group-containing (meth)acrylic tacky polymer having a weight average molecular weight of less than 800,000 and a glass transition temperature of -100[degrees] C to -30[degrees] C, and (2) an amino group-containing (meth)acrylic non-tacky polymer having a weight average molecular weight of from 30,000 to 100,000 and a glass transition temperature of 20[degrees] C to 90[degrees] C.
3M patents adhesive composition
Tacky House is a design intervention show for people with tacky houses.
minutes with... 5 Thom Filicia
DDR-4355 is a transparent, silicone tacky gel with a typical viscosity of approximately 15,000 cP.
NuSil adds new adhesives to drug delivery line
MATERIALS 1/4 yard cotton fabric * 1/2-inch-wide headbands * Glue gun * Fabric scissors * Tacky glue
Boho headband
"All we can hope for is that other First Nations, who know a thing or two about the value of not despoiling the scenery, don't follow down this tacky, tacky road."
Miro Cernetig of the Vancouver
Blatant hypocrisy and/or behavior that your mother would describe as "tacky." Examples: U.S.
A 2 on the Moritz scale
His memorial service was tacky and no doubt some people will make a fortune from selling tacky mementoes and DVDs.
Hysteria at Jacko funeral made it so tacky; lettres