gimmickn.
/ˈɡɪmɪk/ Originally U.S. slang.
A gadget; spec. a contrivance for dishonestly regulating a gambling game, or an article used in a conjuring trick; now usually a tricky or ingenious device, gadget, idea, etc., esp. one adopted for the purpose of attracting attention or publicity.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > [noun] > subject of interest > designed to attract
attraction1607
attractive1615
stunt1878
clou1883
gimmick1926
stopper1968
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance > gadget
jigger1874
gadget1885
timenoguy1886
toy1895
widget1924
gimmick1926
boondoggle1935
gizmo1943
1926 G. H. Maines & B. Grant Wise-crack Dict. 8/2 Gimmick, device used for making a fair game crooked.
1926 Amer. Speech 2 62/1 Every snipe endeavors to impress the poor swabbos with his talk of gillguys, gadgetts, and gimmicks.
1936 Words Nov. 12/2 The word gimac means ‘a gadget’. It is an anagram of the word magic, and is used by magicians the same way as others use the word ‘thing-a-ma-bob’.]
1948 J. Thurber Beast in Me (1949) 77 The wisecrack and the gag, the leg pull and the hotfoot, the gimmick and the switcheroo.
1951 Manch. Guardian Weekly 5 July 3/1 Washington has suspected that a political ‘gimmick’ might be wrapped up in the Malik offer.
1952 M. McCarthy Groves of Academe (1953) iv. 70 The perfect college they hinted at might exist on paper but it would never attract students, for it would have no selling-point, no gimmick, as they said in advertising.
1954 Economist 21 Aug. 602/1 Completely new ‘gimmicks’, such as the aerosol can, which is packed under pressure and blows its contents out as required, have opened up new fields for the tin-plate container.
1957 Observer 8 Sept. 9/5 Diamond..is unalarmed by Tory élan. His publicity gimmick, a small red diamond, is to be seen all over the city, sometimes stuck up in very curious places.
1958 I. J. C. Brown Words in our Time 58 Many comedians have their gimmicks, either as catch-phrase, theme-song, or bit of ‘business’, which they exploit in most of their appearances.
1959 ‘P. Quentin’ Shadow of Guilt xvii. 163 This was his new gimmick, his new device for making himself seem absolutely harmless.
1960 V. Nabokov Invitation to Beheading xii. 122 There are..all sorts of marvellous gimmicks. I remember, for instance when I was a child, there were objects called ‘nonnons’ that were popular.
1969 Daily Tel. 1 Mar. 16/3 There is a growing tendency to use sport as a publicity gimmick for business.
1970 New Society 5 Mar. 385/2 It's a market that..boomed briefly in the mid-sixties with gimmicks like paper dresses.
Compounds
attributive and in other combinations.
ΚΠ
1953 Economist 30 May 595/2 Some of Professor Triffin's colleagues at the conference were innately suspicious of what they called ‘gimmick solutions’ of this kind.
1958 Spectator 14 Feb. 197/1 A weekly devoted to one blind purpose—the promotion of a single, gimmick-geared pattern of love and marriage.
1961 New Left Rev. Jan. 34/2 The speculators and gimmick-mongers.
1967 Punch 29 Mar. 441/2 I am inviting fellow revolutionaries to refuse to buy all goods with attached gimmick offers.
Derivatives
ˈgimmick v. (transitive) to provide with a gimmick; to alter or tamper with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [verb (transitive)] > interfere with so as to
tamper1610
muck1928
gimmick1952
to cock around1990
to cock about2009
1952 Astounding Sci. Fiction Feb. 55 I could gimmick your machine.
1966 I. Asimov Fantastic Voy. xiii. 151 He knows the ship. He designed it. He can best gimmick its controls.
1970 D. Bagley Running Blind ix. 202 I wasn't stupid enough to search Slade's luggage... He would have gimmicked it so that he could tell at a glance whether a suitcase had been opened.
gimmicked adj.
ΚΠ
1959 News Chron. 18 Nov. 6/7 Eisenhower's own favourite speech writer, the master ghost of those gimmicked years.
ˈgimmickless adj. devoid of or free from a gimmick or gimmicks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [adjective] > devoid of gimmicks
gimmickless1962
1962 Times 9 Mar. 13/4 To declare oneself gimmickless is in these times to assert straightforward procedure.
1963 Punch 16 Oct. 576/2 A good, straight, gimmickless lecture on painting.
ˈgimmickry n. (also ˈgimmickery) the use of gimmicks; gimmicks collectively; an abundance of gimmicks.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > showing to the sight > exposure to public view > an exhibition > [noun] > employing devices to attract publicity
gimmickry1952
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance > collectively
gadgetry1920
gimmickry1952
1952 N.Y. Times 9 Sept. 2/2 Senator Johnson's subcommittee also had attacked what it called excessive ‘gimmickery and gadgetry’ on today's war-planes.
1952 N.Y. Times 26 Oct. vi. 49/1 The Kennedy tea parties are a unique addition to the campaign gimmickry of one of the most spirited and critical Senatorial contests of the year.
1958 Observer 28 Apr. 15/1 A Shakespeare play can be ripped apart by the twin steel claws of naturalism and gimmickry.
1964 New Statesman 6 Mar. 354/3 US policy in Vietnam has been a compote of gimmickry, half-truth and self-deception.
1970 Amateur Photographer 11 Mar. 27/2 I don't therefore go along with those who condemn elaboration in cameras and projectors as futile gimmickry.
ˈgimmicky adj. employing or characterized by gimmicks; designed to attract attention or publicity.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > [adjective]
catching?a1430
vive1528
fascinating1618
affecting1665
amusing1695
uptaking1737
striking1752
interesting1768
arresting1792
frappant1797
riveting1800
engrossing1820
enchaining1823
arrestive1834
alive1844
vivid1853
seizing1865
absorptive1881
absorbative1893
gripping1896
intriguing1909
attention-getting1917
grippy1921
head-turning1938
gimmicky1957
compulsive1961
spellbinding1978
stunty1981
1957 Times 2 Dec. 7 (advt.) What I thought I'd do was write a gimmicky ad with a screwy drawing, and people would be bound to read it.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 55 I'm not sure I care for that gimmicky girl.
Draft additions June 2015
Philippine English. A night out with friends.
ΚΠ
1998 BusinessWorld (Philippines) 30 Jan. 34/3 It was still a rare ‘gimmick’ for us, on a weeknight yet, and we decided to make the most of it.
2005 Manila Times (Nexis) 8 May I had just come from a late-night ‘gimmick’, a chat with friends that lasted until the early hours of the following day.
2012 Philippines Daily Inquirer (Nexis) 7 Dec. Go on a gimmick with your friends this Christmas.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online December 2019).
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n.1926