Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Shoddy?

\Shod"dy\, n. [Perh. akin to {Shed}, v. t.; as meaning originally, waste stuff shed or thrown off; cf. dial. shod to shed, and E. {Shed} a parting, separation, {Shode} a parting.] Fluffy, fibrous waste from wool carding, worsted spinning, or weaving of woolens.
\Shod"dy\, n. [Perhaps fr. {Shed}, v. t.; as meaning originally, waste stuff shedor thrown off.] 1. A fibrous material obtained by ``deviling,'' or tearing into fibers, refuse woolen goods, old stockings, rags, druggets, etc. See {Mungo}. 2. A fabric of inferior quality made of, or containing a large amount of, shoddy. Note: The great quantity of shoddy goods furnished as army supplies in the late Civil War in the United States gave wide currency to the word, and it came to be applied to persons who pretend to a higher position in society than that to which their breeding or worth entitles them.
\Shod"dy\, a. Made wholly or in part of shoddy; containing shoddy; as, shoddy cloth; shoddy blankets; hence, colloquially, not genuine; sham; pretentious; as, shoddy aristocracy. Shoddy inventions designed to bolster up a factitious pride. --Compton Reade.