tacky

tacky or tackey¹ (ˈtækɪ)

—*adj* , tackier, tackiest
	slightly sticky or adhesive: the varnish was still tacky

[C18: from tack¹ (in the sense: stickiness)]

tackey or tackey¹

—*adj*

[C18: from tack¹ (in the sense: stickiness)]

'tackily or tackey¹

—*adv*

'tackiness or tackey¹

—n

tacky² (ˈtækɪ)

—*adj* , tackier, tackiest
1.	shabby or shoddy
2.	ostentatious and vulgar
3.	(US) (of a person) dowdy; seedy

[C19: from dialect tacky an inferior horse, of unknown origin]

'tackiness²

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

tacky

"sticky," 1788, from tack (1) in the sense of "an act of attaching temporarily."

tacky

"in poor taste," 1862, adj. use of tackey (n.) "small or inferior horse" (1800), later "hillbilly, cracker" (1888), of uncertain origin.

Slang Dictionary

tacky definition

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

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences

The game itself looks cheap and tacky at best, though.

Place the sprayed tacky piece of paper behind the web and gently bring it into

contact with the web.

While adhesive is still tacky, set stone fragment in place.

The souvenirs might be a bit on the tacky side, but you'll discover plenty of

intriguing items in these lively markets.

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Related Words

ticky-tacky marsh tacky

run-down sticky wicket

Matching Quote

"Kitchens were different then, too—not only what came out of them, but their smells and sounds. A hot pie cooling smells different from a frozen pie thawing. Oilcloth and linoleum and apples in an open bowl and ruffled rubber aprons make a different aromatic mix from Formica and ceramic tile and mangoes in an acrylic fruit ripener and plastic-coated aprons printed with "Who invited all these tacky people?" And the kitchen sounds. I am not sure that today's kitchen is noisier. But the noises are different. Today you get the song of the food processor and the blender, the intermittent hum of the reefer and the freezer, the buzz-slosh-and-grunt of the dishwasher, the violently audible digestive processes of the waste disposal in the sink. Then it was the whir and clatter of the hand-powered eggbeater, the thunk-thunk-thunk of somebody mashing potatoes, or, in green-pea season, the crisp pop of pea pod and the rattle-rattle-rattle of peas into the pan."

-Peg Bracken

tacky

tack·y

tack·y

tacky definition