different between tatty vs meretricious

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?tæti/
• Rhymes: -æti

Etymology 1

Clipping of potato.

Noun

tatty (plural tatties)

1. (Scotland, Northern England, Tyneside) potato

Etymology 2

From tatter +? -y.

Adjective

tatty (comparative tattier, superlative tattiest)

1. Tattered; dilapidated, distressed, worn-out, torn

Translations

Etymology 3

From Hindi [Term?].

Noun

tatty (plural tatties)

1. (India) A woven mat or screen hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters.

See also

• tatty bye

Scots

Noun

tatty (plural tatties)

1. Alternative form of tattie

English

Etymology

From Latin meretr?cius, from meretr?x (“harlot, prostitute”), from mere? (“earn, deserve, merit”) (English merit) + -tr?x (“(female agent)”) (English -trix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m????t????s/, /?m????t????s/
• Rhymes: -???s

Adjective

meretricious (comparative more meretricious, superlative most meretricious)

1. Tastelessly gaudy; superficially attractive but having in reality no value or substance; falsely alluring.
   • 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador 2007, p. 164:

     When I lifted my eyes from the page, there was none of the meretricious argument London always offers that the sole real purpose in life is to hustle for a buck.

2. (law) Involving unlawful sexual connection or lack of consent by at least one party (said of a romantic relationship).
3. (obsolete) Of, or relating to prostitutes or prostitution.

Synonyms

• (tastelessly showy): brassy, cheap, flashy, garish, gaudy, gimcrack, tacky, tatty, tawdry, trashy

Related terms

• merit (see also: merit: related terms)

Translations