ticky-tacky

[ tik-ee-tak-ee ]

adjective

1. shoddy and unimaginatively designed; flimsy and dull:

   a row of new, ticky-tacky bungalows.

2. tacky ².

noun

1. ticky-tacky material or something made of it, especially housing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ticky-tacky¹

First recorded in 1960–65; gradational compound based on tacky ²

Example Sentences

While 15 yards were being marked off, former NFL official and current NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay chimed in to say that was a ticky-tacky call and that Wilkins had actually pulled up and certainly didn’t deserve a personal foul.

From Seattle Times

“When there’s things that are really egregious, obvious pulls and tugs and things of that nature, obviously you’ve got to correct those hard. But things that are kind of 50/50, you make him aware, this is what they said the penalty was for — that’s how it works in this league. There’s going to be times like that. You just kind of help him through that. But you don’t want to be so critical of things that are ticky-tacky that you make him play hesitant.”

From Seattle Times

They are hulking cubes and, no matter how much developers splash on colorful paint and add bits of ticky-tacky, they all look as if they came from the same box of Legos.

From Seattle Times

Deliveries arrive to ticky-tacky suburban houses in a hover-van “driven” by a cartoon-video bird.

From New York Times

It’s far more emotionally fulfilling to scream raw-throated at a zebra than to dwell on ticky-tacky technicalities and technique.

From Washington Post