different between gimmick vs gimcrack

English

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly a rough anagram of magic or from gimme.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /???m.?k/
• Rhymes: -?m?k

Noun

gimmick (plural gimmicks)

1. A trick or device used to attain some end.

   The box had a gimmick to make the coin appear to vanish.

   • April 19 2002, Scott Tobias, AV Club Fightville[1]

     Epperlein and Tucker focus on two featherweight hopefuls: Dustin Poirier, a formidable contender who’s looking to parlay a history of schoolyard violence and street-fighting into a potential career, and Albert Stainback, a more thoughtful yet more erratic and undisciplined fighter whose chief gimmick is entering the ring wearing a hat like the one Malcolm McDowell wore in A Clockwork Orange.

2. A clever ploy or strategy.

   The contest was a gimmick to get people to sign up for their mailing list.

3. (electronics) A gimmick capacitor.
4. (Philippines) A night out with one's friends.

Derived terms

• gimmicky
• gimmickry

Translations

Verb

gimmick (third-person singular simple present gimmicks, present participle gimmicking, simple past and past participle gimmicked)

1. To rig or set up with a trick or device.

   The magician's box was gimmicked with a wire that made it appear to open on its own.

Translations

French

Etymology

From English gimmick.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?i.mik/

Noun

gimmick m (plural gimmicks)

1. gimmick

English

Alternative forms

• jimcrack

Etymology

Unknown

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d???mk?æk/

Adjective

gimcrack (not comparable)

1. Showy but of poor quality; worthless.

Noun

gimcrack (plural gimcracks)

1. Something showy but worthless; a gimmick or bauble.
   • 1847–1848, William Thackeray, Vanity Fair:

     […] he came home to find […] honest Swartz in her favourite amber-coloured satin, with turquoise bracelets, countless rings, flowers, feathers, and all sorts of tags and gimcracks, about as elegantly decorated as a she chimney-sweep on May-day.

Derived terms

• gimcrackery

Verb

gimcrack (third-person singular simple present gimcracks, present participle gimcracking, simple past and past participle gimcracked)

1. (transitive) To put together quickly and without much care; to bodge.
2. (transitive) To embellish with gimcracks.