gimmick
[gim-ik]
- an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, especially one designed to attract attention or increase appeal.
- a concealed, usually devious aspect or feature of something, as a plan or deal: An offer that good must have a gimmick in it somewhere.
- a hidden mechanical device by which a magician works a trick or a gambler controls a game of chance.
- Electronics Informal. a capacitor formed by intertwining two insulated wires.
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- to equip or embellish with unnecessary features, especially in order to increase salability, acceptance, etc. (often followed by up): to gimmick up a sports car with chrome and racing stripes.
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- to resort to gimmickry, especially habitually.
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Origin of gimmick
An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; origin uncertain
Synonyms
See more synonyms for gimmick on Thesaurus.com1. stunt, plan, ruse, ploy; angle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gimmick
Contemporary Examples
Critics praised his crooning, even if they regarded it little more than a gimmick.
Future Makes Us Rethink Everything We Thought We Knew About Rap ArtistsLuke Hopping
December 15, 2014
The old showbiz saying is “you gotta have a gimmick,” and Minaj has wisely gotten a few.
Nicki Minaj’s Ass-tastic ‘Anaconda’ Video and the Curse of the Butt CareerKevin Fallon
August 21, 2014
Daylyt downplayed the gimmick, later claiming on Twitter that it was his way of saying he was finished with battle rap.
“The entire thing was supposed to be a gimmick ... just a small gimmick in the corner of the festival,” he says.
But I had to come up with a way to make the style match the content (rather than it merely being a gimmick).
Historical Examples
If you can't find his gimmick in half a day, I'll come out and show it to you.
The Great Gray PlagueRaymond F. Jones
We have to remember that the gimmick in this whole business is a golden skull.
The Golden SkullJohn Blaine
The "gimmick," as these American subjects put it, is "hot" and the turnover is fantastic.
High ManJay Clarke
And you think me incapable of keeping your secret, ah, gimmick, I believe is the idiomatic term you used.
MercenaryDallas McCord Reynolds
That gimmick's pretty much of a spilled secret now, but on p. 270 a swap for you and Lyad it was worth it.
LegacyJames H Schmitz
gimmick
- something designed to attract extra attention, interest, or publicity
- any clever device, gadget, or stratagem, esp one used to deceive
- mainly US a device or trick of legerdemain that enables a magician to deceive the audience
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Word Origin
C20: originally US slang, of unknown origin
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
Word Origin and History for gimmick
n.
1926 (in Maine & Grant's "Wise-Crack Dictionary," which defines it as "a device used for making a fair game crooked"), American English, perhaps an alteration of gimcrack, or an anagram of magic.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper