kickshaw
Americannoun
-
a tidbit or delicacy, especially one served as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre.
-
something showy but without value; trinket; trifle.
noun
-
a valueless trinket
-
archaic a small elaborate or exotic delicacy
Etymology
Origin of kickshaw
1590–1600; back formation from kickshaws < French quelque chose something (by folk etymology)
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.
Gewgaw, a shiny trinket Bon Voyage A trinket or a knickknack, an ornament, a kickshaw, a frippery, a gimcrack, a bibelot, a gewgaw .
From Washington Post ● Aug. 12, 2021
What," cried the Captain with a sneer, "I suppose this may be in your French taste? it's like enough, for it's all kickshaw work.
From Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Burney, Fanny
Andover, knowing her, imagined that she had been refused some kickshaw, and thought no more about it.
From The Black Moth A Romance of the XVIIIth Century by Heyer, Georgette
Return whence you came; take back those horrible vegetables, and that poor kickshaw!
From The Three Musketeers by Dumas père, Alexandre
“We aren’t got enough to eat in the fo’c’s’le, sir, an’ we wants our proper ’lowance o’ meat, instead of a lot of rotten kickshaw marmalade!”
From Afloat at Last A Sailor Boy's Log of his Life at Sea by Overend, William Heysham
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.
