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definitions

cheap-jack

[cheep-jak]
|

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.

Nearby words

  1. cheap,
  2. cheap at twice the price,
  3. cheap out,
  4. cheap shot,
  5. cheap skate,
  6. cheapen,
  7. cheapie,
  8. cheaply,
  9. cheapo,
  10. cheapside
Also cheap·jack, cheap-john [cheep-jon] /ˈtʃipˌdʒɒn/.

Origin of cheap-jack

First recorded in 1850–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cheapjack

  • The rewards of the literary world—that is, the tangible, potable, spendable rewards—go mostly to the cheapjack and the mountebank.

    Pipefuls|Christopher Morley

  • If Llanyglo's cheapjack in one way, perhaps it isn't in another.

    Mushroom Town|Oliver Onions
British Dictionary definitions for cheapjack

cheap-jack

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