flimsy
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Uncertain. First used in the 18th century. Perhaps a metathesis of film + -s + -y; or related to flimflam.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]flimsy (comparative flimsier or more flimsy, superlative flimsiest or most flimsy)
- Likely to bend or break under pressure.
- Synonyms: weak, shaky, flexible, fragile
- Antonyms: robust, strong, sturdy
- He expected the flimsy structure to collapse at any moment.
- 1775 January 17 (first performance), [Richard Brinsley Sheridan], The Rivals, a Comedy. […], London: […] John Wilkie, […], published 1775, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 20:
- Yet do I carry every vvhere vvith me ſuch a confounded farago of doubts, fears, hopes, vviſhes, and all the flimſy furniture of a country Miſs's brain!
- (figurative) Weak; ill-founded.
- Synonyms: weak, feeble, unconvincing, unfounded, unsubstantiated
- Antonyms: well-founded, substantiated
- a flimsy excuse
Translations
[edit]likely to bend or break under pressure
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weak; ill-founded
Noun
[edit]flimsy (plural flimsies)
- Thin typing paper used to make multiple copies.
- 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 251:
- Smiley peered once more at the flimsy which he still clutched in his pudgy hand.
- (naval slang) A service certificate
- 1964, Australia. Parliament, Records of the Proceedings and Printed Papers of the Parliament:
- A perusal of the comments of officers under whom he has served as recorded in his “flimsies" indicates that he has almost consistently received high commendation for his service.
- 1994, John Wells, The Royal Navy: An Illustrated Social History, 1870-1982, page 7:
- Regulations required a commanding officer to render annual confidential reports on the character and ability of his officers - with particular reference to sobriety - on forms known as 'flimsies'.
- (informal, in the plural) Skimpy underwear.
- 2007 October 25, Ruth La Ferla, “Now It’s Nobody’s Secret”, in New York Times[1]:
- Choosing lingerie “is about what makes you look good, but also what looks good with or through your clothing,” said Monica Mitro, a spokeswoman for Victoria’s Secret, the brand that catapulted racy flimsies into the public eye.
- (slang) A banknote.
- 1846, George William MacArthur Reynolds, The Mysteries of London, page 60:
- […] Q was a Queer-screen, that served as a blind; / R was a Reader, with flimsies well lined; […]
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]Thin typing paper used to make multiple copies
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