rinky-tink
Americannoun
Usage
What does rinky-tink mean? Rinky-tink means corny or outdated.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 ricky-tick can also be used to mean the same thing as rinky-tink. Both rinky-tink and ricky-tick 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. Example: His act is a bit rinky-tink, if you ask me, but I guess that’s what his audience wants to see.
Etymology
Origin of rinky-tink
1960–65; perhaps blend of ricky-tick and rinky-dink
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.
No one perishes, and the gang war turns to open revelry when the combatants, richly creamed but unbowed, lay down their arms and join in a rinky-tink anthem to brotherhood.
From Time Magazine Archive
He ambles in to the rinky-tink beat of Joseph Lamb's rag, Bohemia, a little guy in a shiny satin shirt and crushed-velvet breeches.
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.
