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