tacky 的词源

“粘性，粘附性”，1788年起源于 tack（名词1），指“临时附着的行为” + -y（2）。相关词：Tackiness，意为“粘性”。

“品味差”，1888年，源自“破旧，寒酸”的早期意义（1862年）；作为形容词使用的 tackey, tackie (n.) “营养不良或被忽视的马；低价的小马或小马驹”（1800年之前），一个起源不确定的词。东岸的辛科特格野马在1878年被称为 marsh tackies。该名词也被扩展用于类似条件的人：“乡巴佬，克拉克”（1888年）。相关词汇： Tackily; tackiness。

The word "tacky" is a Southern colloquialism. It was coined by a wealthier or more refined and educated class for general application to those who were not sheltered by the branches of a family tree, who were "tainted." Those who were wealthy and yet had no great-grandfathers were "tackies." The word was used both in contempt and in derision. It is now nearly obsolete in both senses. There are no aristocrats in the South now, and therefore no "tackies." No man who has the instincts of a gentleman is spoken of as a "tacky," whether he can remember the name of his grandfather's uncle or not. But it has its uses. It is employed in describing persons of low ideas and vulgar manners, whether rich or poor. It may mean an absence of style. In dress, anything that is tawdry is "tacky." A ribbon on the shopkeeper's counter, a curtain in the bolt, a shawl or bonnet, a bolt of cloth fresh from the loom may be "tacky," because it is cheap and yet pretentious. In Louisiana the inferior grade of Creole ponies are known as "tackies." [Horace Ingraham, Charleston, S.C., in American Notes and Queries, Feb. 15, 1890]

“tacky”这个词是南方的口语。它是由一个更富裕或更精致、受过教育的阶层创造的，普遍应用于那些没有家族庇护、被认为“有污点”的人。那些富有却没有曾祖父的人被称为“tackies”。这个词既被用作蔑视也被用作嘲讽。现在在这两种意义上几乎已被遗忘。南方现在没有贵族，因此也没有“tackies”。没有一个具有绅士气质的人会被称为“tacky”，无论他是否能记得祖父叔叔的名字。但它仍有其用途。它被用来描述那些思想低下和举止粗俗的人，无论他们是富人还是穷人。它可能意味着缺乏风格。在穿着上，任何华而不实的东西都是“tacky”。店主柜台上的丝带、卷中的窗帘、披肩或帽子、刚从织机上出来的布料都可能是“tacky”，因为它便宜却又自命不凡。在路易斯安那州，劣质的克里奥尔小马被称为“tackies”。[Horace Ingraham, Charleston, S.C., in American Notes and Queries, Feb. 15, 1890]