fingle-fanglen.
A trifle; something whimsical or fantastic. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > insubstantial > showy or fanciful but insubstantial
gewgaw?c1225
frivolc1450
whim-whama1529
jim-jamc1540
trickc1550
flamfew1574
ribaldry1594
bubble1598
kickshawa1616
fairy money1616
foolation1628
fingle-fanglea1652
trangama1658
tinsel1660
gingerbread1664
finnimbrun1676
gimcrack1676
knacka1677
tawdrum1680
knick-knack1682
trantlum1768
knick-knacket1793
folderol1820
jigamaree1824
novelty1840
fool's gold1870
flapdoodle1877
fal-lal1902
a1652 R. Brome Weeding of Covent-Garden i. i. 13 in Five New Playes (1659) This comes of your new fingle-fangle fashion.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. iii. 220 To wrangle About the slightest fingle fangle.
1710 Brit. Apollo 14–16 Aug. A Woman..I Love; A kind of Female Fingle, Fangle.
1900 Daily News 26 Nov. 4/1 A lot of fingle-fangle, like piano-playing.
1963 Brewer's Dict. Phr. & Fable 359/2 Fingle-fangle..is not heard nowadays, except as an archaism.
Derivatives
ˈfingle-fangled adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > insubstantial > showy or fanciful but insubstantial
frivol1492
fustian1523
triflinga1538
tirlery1546
trumpery1576
mockado1577
skipjack1597
flashy1598
trifle1607
fripperya1625
bagatelle1637
fingle-fangled1651
tawdry1696
sauntering1726
gimcrack1751
folderol1820
tin1886
shicec1890
cotton candy1951
candyfloss1957
1651 N. Biggs Matæotechnia Medicinæ Praxeωs ⁋11 The upstart fingle-fangl'd Paracelsian.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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n.a1652