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You are here: Home / Language / How Did the Word “Tawdry” Originate For Something Tasteless and What Does the Term Mean?

How Did the Word “Tawdry” Originate For Something Tasteless and What Does the Term Mean?

May 27, 2020 by Karen Hill

In 672 A.D., the eventual St. Audrey entered a convent for a life of penance and prayer.

As a young woman she had worn fine necklaces, a habit she now considered the cause of her terminal neck tumor, which she covered with a scarf.

After her death, women honored her by wearing fine silk St. Audrey scarves, which through time were followed by cheap imitations for the English lower classes, who pronounced “St. Audrey” as “tawdry.”

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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