cheap-jack

[ cheep-jak ]

/ ˈtʃipˌdʒæk /

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noun

a peddler, especially of inferior articles.

adjective

of or suitable for a cheap-jack; cheap or inferior.

without scruples or principles; underhanded: using cheap-jack methods to evict tenants.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Also cheapjack, cheap-john

[cheep-jon]. /ˈtʃipˌdʒɒn/.

Origin of cheap-jack

First recorded in 1850–55

Words nearby cheap-jack

Ch.E., cheap, cheap at twice the price, cheapen, cheapie, cheap-jack, cheapo, cheap out, cheap shot, Cheapside, cheapskate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cheap-jack in a sentence

In doing so he exposed the failure of other airlines in the region to see the huge pent-up demand for cheap travel.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Betrayal…you can hear it…betraying the thing he loves for a cheap bit of film publicity.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Starting in the 1970s, then MPAA president Jack Valenti began what was to become a decades-long fight against the quota system.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Riffing off the slogan “Now Everyone Can Fly,” the carrier offered no-frills flights that were both cheap and plentiful.
The Presumed Crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Is Nothing Like MH370|Lennox Samuels|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Heinold's First and Last Chance, Oakland (Jack London, Taft) You can thank Johnny Heinold for your favorite Jack London book.
The Bars That Made America Great|Nina Strochlic|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cheap as they are, they are a poorer speculation than even corner lots in a lithographic city of Nebraska or Oregon.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Strathland would bundle me out in ten minutes if anything happened to Jack.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
She is immensely rich, one of the ablest political women in London, and Jack is desperately in love with her.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
How on earth can Jack find time to think about women with the immense amount of work he gets through?
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
In 1205 wheat was worth 12 pence per bushel, which was cheap, as there had been some years of famine previous thereto.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell

British Dictionary definitions for cheap-jack

cheap-jack

/ informal /

noun

a person who sells cheap and shoddy goods

adjective

shoddy or inferior

Word Origin for cheap-jack

C19: from cheap + Jack (name used to typify a person)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012