flivver
Americannoun
-
Older Slang. an automobile, especially one that is small, inexpensive, and old.
-
Slang. something of unsatisfactory quality or inferior grade.
noun
Etymology
Origin of flivver
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10; origin uncertain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Henry Ford said the single-seat Flivver would be "the Model T of the air," but after a prototype crashed in 1928, killing the pilot, the industrialist abandoned the idea.
From The Verge • Jun. 9, 2016
Even Henry Ford, the inventor of the automobile, spearheaded his own version, the Ford Flivver.
From The Verge • Jun. 9, 2016
Later in 1926, Henry Ford introduced a 15-foot-long aircraft he dubbed the "Model T of the Air," the Ford Flivver.
From Chicago Tribune • Apr. 20, 2012
Its author: California visionary Upton Sinclair, who wrote The Flivver King ". . . because I am sick of seeing lies enthroned and ruling the world."
From Time Magazine Archive
They greeted Mormon with a shout and one bulk of them surged down toward the bridge over Flivver Creek, escorting the three partners and Westlake, Simpson and his help with them.
From Rimrock Trail by Dunn, J. Allan, (Joseph Allan)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
