kickshaw

[kik-shaw]

noun

a tidbit or delicacy, especially one served as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre.

something showy but without value; trinket; trifle.

Origin of kickshaw

1590–1600; back formation from kickshaws < French quelque chose something (by folk etymology)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for kickshaw

Historical Examples of kickshaw

Andover, knowing her, imagined that she had been refused some kickshaw, and thought no more about it.
The Black Moth
Georgette Heyer
Put about a cup of ale, is this not better than your foolish French kickshaw claret.
The Anglo-French Entente in the Seventeenth Century
Charles Bastide
Absolutely everybody seemed to be lunching at Kickshaw's yesterday!
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, Apr 2, 1919
Various
Notwithstanding the comforting assurances of Kickshaw, I felt considerably nervous.
Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 2
Various

British Dictionary definitions for kickshaw

kickshaw

kickshaws

noun

a valueless trinket

archaic a small elaborate or exotic delicacy

Word Origin for kickshaw

C16: back formation from kickshaws, by folk etymology from French quelque chose something

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 kickshaw

late 16c., "a fancy dish in cookery" (especially a non-native one), from English pronunciation of French quelque chose "a something, a little something."