Wordie: Crummy: Comments

Comment by arby, about 1 year ago

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:06:31 +0000

Whereas Roget has the new meaning:
crummy also crumby
ADJECTIVE: Slang. Of decidedly inferior quality: base, cheap, lousy, miserable, paltry, poor, rotten, shoddy, sleazy, trashy. Informal: cheesy. Slang: schlocky. See GOOD.

Comment by arby, about 1 year ago

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:05:11 +0000

Interesting, the old meaning was the opposite, see Bartleby:

E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

That’s crummy, that’s jolly good. She’s a crummy woman, a fine handsome woman. Crummy means fat or fleshy. The crummy part of bread is the fleshy or main part. The opposite of “crusty” = ill-tempered.

Comment by arby, about 1 year ago

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:12:19 +0000

I associate this word with The Catcher in the Rye - Holden used it a lot and I think it was my first exposure to it.

Comment by jennarenn, about 1 year ago

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:24:49 +0000

In the world of dive restaurants, a crummy atmosphere often equals awesome food.

Comment by slumry, about 1 year ago

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:49:20 +0000

Something that produces crumbs or something that is covered with crumbs; something that is of poor quality; a bus used to transfer workers to a job site. Wish I knew how the last meaning evolved (I could speculate, but would like to find some actual evidence. ;-)