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Webster 1913 Edition


Shoddy

Shod′dy

,
Noun.
[Perhaps fr.
Shed
,
Verb.
T.
; as meaning originally, waste stuff
shed
or thrown off; cf. dial.
shod
to shed, and E.
Shed
a parting, separation,
Shode
a parting.]
1.
A fibrous material obtained by “deviling,” or tearing into fibers, refuse woolen goods, old stockings, rags, druggets, etc. See
Mungo
.
3.
A fabric of inferior quality made of, or containing a large amount of, shoddy.

Shod′dy

,
Adj.
1.
Made wholly or in part of shoddy; containing shoddy;
as,
shoddy
cloth;
shoddy
blankets
; hence, colloquially, not genuine; sham; pretentious;
as,
shoddy
aristocracy
.
Shoddy
inventions designed to bolster up a factitious pride.
Compton Reade.

Definition 2024


shoddy

shoddy

English

Adjective

shoddy (comparative shoddier, superlative shoddiest)

  1. Of poor quality or construction
    Do not settle for shoddy knives if you are serious about cooking.

Translations

Noun

shoddy (countable and uncountable, plural shoddies)

  1. A low-grade cloth made from by-products of wool processing, or from recycled wool.
    • 1849, “A Statistical Outline of the Present Condition & Progress of the Anglo-Saxon Race”, in The Anglo-Saxon‎, page 123:
      Formerly, shoddy cloth was “used only for padding, and such like purposes, but now blankets, flushings, druggets, carpets, and table covers, cloth for pilot and Petersham great” coats, &c., are either wholly or partly made of shoddy, which, in fact, is “occasionally worn by everybody. The beautiful woollen table covers are made wholly of shoddy, being printed by aqua-fortis from designs drawn in London and Manchester, and cut on holly and other blocks, on the spot.”
    • 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford 2003, p. 324:
      To fill contracts for hundreds of thousands of uniforms, textile manufacturers compressed the fibers of recycled woolen goods into a material called “shoddy”.

Translations

References

See also