ricky-tick
Americannoun
adjective
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of or characteristic of such sound or beat.
-
corny or outmoded.
Usage
What does ricky-tick mean? Ricky-tick means corny or outdated. It can be used to describe the kinds of things that seem a bit old-fashioned and silly because they come from another era. The similar term rinky-dink can be used to mean the same thing, but it more commonly means inferior, amateurish, or small-time. The term rinky-tink can also be used to mean the same thing as ricky-tick. Both ricky-tick and rinky-tink can also be (and were originally) used to describe the mechanical, repetitive style and beat of ragtime or early swing music. Both terms can also be used as nouns to refer to such music. Ricky-tick is also a military slang term meaning immediately or as quickly as possible. It’s often used in the phrase most ricky-tick, as in Drop what you’re doing most ricky-tick and get down here. Example: His act is a bit ricky-tick, if you ask me, but I guess that’s what his audience wants to see.
Etymology
Origin of ricky-tick
First recorded in 1935–40; apparently imitative
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.
Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo has contributed an amazingly effective score, encompassing everything from kiddietime ricky-tick to rock to parodies of Bernard Herrmann and Ennio Morricone.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 9, 1985
Again there are the hoofing and puffing resurrections of ricky-tick dance routines, which have long since been kidded to death in Thoroughly Modern Millie and on Laugh-In.
From Time Magazine Archive
Flashbacks detail the end of the great man's life in a series of slapstick sketches played against the ricky-tick accompaniment of Yes!
From Time Magazine Archive
She polishes off a couple of lesser-known Rodgers and Hart tunes and, best of all, a ricky-tick rendition of the Fanny Brice favorite, Second Hand Rose.
From Time Magazine Archive
Loosely strung together on a scheme that plays the younger and older generations off against each other, it sizzles with musical montage, tricky electronics and sleight-of-hand lyrics that range between 1920s ricky-tick and 1960s raga.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
