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Entry 3 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Tawdry

/tôd'-rē/ · Taw·dry · IPA /ˈtɔ.dɹi/
01 a. Bought at the festival of St. Audrey.
  1. 1.
    Bought at the festival of St. Audrey.[Obs.]
    “And gird in your waist, For more fineness, with a tawdry lace.” — Spenser.
  2. 2.
    Very fine and showy in colors, without taste or elegance; having an excess of showy ornaments without grace; cheap and gaudy; as, a tawdry dress; tawdry feathers; tawdry colors.
    “He rails from morning to night at essenced fops and tawdry courtiers.” — Spectator.
02 n. A necklace of a rural fashion, bought at St. Audrey's fair; hence, a necklace in general.
pl. Tawdries
  1. 1.
    A necklace of a rural fashion, bought at St. Audrey's fair; hence, a necklace in general.[Obs.]
    “Of which the Naiads and the blue Nereids make Them tawdries for their necks.” — Drayton.