hackwork

American  

[hak-wurk] / ˈhækˌwɜrk /

noun

1. writing, painting, or any professional work done for hire and usually following a formula rather than being motivated by any creative impulse.

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hackwork British  

/ ˈhækˌwɜːk /

noun

1. undistinguished literary work produced to order

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Etymology

Origin of hackwork

First recorded in 1850–55; hack ² + work

Example Sentences

Ma isn’t a bad movie, and it’s sure as hell not trying to be a good one, but it scratches a particular itch that neither noble failures nor cranked-out hackwork can touch.

From Slate • May 29, 2019

Creative disagreement can lead to productive tension, provided that the artists — or, in this case, the engineers — can’t resign themselves to turning out hackwork.

From New York Times • May 15, 2016

This is largely how today’s culture has chosen to remember Welles: as a pompous wreck, a man who peaked early and then devolved into hackwork and bloated fiascos.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 7, 2015

In the 1960s, New York Times art critic John Canaday described Keane paintings as "tasteless hackwork," but that didn't stop the Keane legend from growing.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 21, 2014

There is, secondly, his early hackwork, his Chaines de l'Esclavage, which also may be neglected.

From Essays in English Literature, 1780-1860 by Saintsbury, George