catchpenny

[ kach-pen-ee ]

adjective

1. made to sell readily at a low price, regardless of value or use.

noun

, plural catch·pen·nies.

1. something that is catchpenny.

catchpenny

/ ˈkætʃˌpɛnɪ /

adjective

1. prenominal designed to have instant appeal, esp in order to sell quickly and easily without regard for quality

   catchpenny ornaments

noun

1. an item or commodity that is cheap and showy

Word History and Origins

Origin of catchpenny¹

1750–60; from phrase catch ( a ) penny

Example Sentences

The cautionary example of what not to do is Niagara Falls, which, as Henry James kvetched, had become “choked in the horribly vulgar shops and booths and catchpenny artifices.”

From Washington Post

It didn’t take long for The New York Times to warn Albany Republicans against succumbing to “the catchpenny cry of local politicians on the subject of ‘Home Rule.’”

From New York Times

“The storage battery is, in my opinion, a catchpenny, a sensation, a mechanism for swindling the public by stock companies,” wrote Thomas Edison in 1883.

From Wall Street Journal

Rather than teach a series of tricks and tips for momentary success in speaking, as any catchpenny sophist might, Aristotle sought to form a coherent view of why those tips and tricks worked.

From Literature

The swift twilight of New York was almost upon him when he was next distracted from his thoughts by the crossing shouts of loud-voiced men bawling forth a catchpenny extra of a third-rate evening paper.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• garish
• gaudy
• glittering
• glittery
• jazzy
• ostentatious
• showy
• snazzy
• tacky