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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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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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

Soon the voice of the cheap-Jack was heard mingling with the others on shore.
The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer|Richard Clynton
As for the cheap-Jack fellows, let our master make 'em pay toll.
The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer|Richard Clynton
He talked away like a Cheap Jack, and made such fun, people nearly died with laughing.
The New Girl at St. Chad's|Angela Brazil
Somehow this cheap-Jack way of getting out of doing any work by spending a little money, got my goat something fierce.
Believe You Me!|Nina Wilcox Putnam

The law, wrote M. Jusserand, distinguished very clearly between an educated physician and a cheap-jack of the cross-ways.
Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery|Robert Means Lawrence

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