tin lizzie

American  

noun

Older Slang.

1. a small, cheap automobile in run-down condition, especially a Model T Ford.

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tin lizzie British  

/ ˈlɪzɪ /

noun

1. informal  an old or decrepit car; jalopy

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Etymology

Origin of tin lizzie

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Brooks, 95, spent much of the pandemic working on the book — a year of remembering everything from getting hit by a Tin Lizzie as an 8-year-old in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to writing the musical version of “The Producers” with Tom Meehan at Madame Romaine de Lyon in Manhattan over omelets.

From Seattle Times

Devlin was the first person in town to buy a Model T Ford, and a week later, Mrs. Devlin, on her way home from the Women’s Temperance League tea, drove that tin lizzie into Bonner Lake.

From Literature

Paint the walls a mid-tone gray, such as Tin Lizzie by Sherwin Williams, to make the white furniture pieces stand out.

From Washington Post

Perhaps Tesla is right in terms of recent percentage growth, but the Tin Lizzie made up 40% of U.S. car sales at its peak or, proportionally speaking, 65,000 times the Model 3’s best week so far.

From The Wall Street Journal

The 1910s and Roaring ’20s brought both the mass production of the Model “Tin Lizzie” T and the mass proliferation of radio stations across the United States.

From Slate