Talk:shoddy

Etymology

I don't know how to proceed, or much about words, but is worth mentioning that shoddy may have originated from shoad (scraps of ore of tin, lead or copper) and was applied (also as a noun) to inferior fabric made from low-grade wool or scraps of woolen fabric (see description); and that as an adjective shoddy later acquired its pejorative implication much as did chintzy from chintz, another fabric? Mpulier 02:57, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

The Oxford English Dictionary agrees that this is a possible derivation, via the obsolete sense of small stone (rubble) that was of inferior quality for building. I will add this as a suggested etymology, but we will probably never know whether this is the real origin of the pejorative usage. Dbfirs 18:14, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

More detail from Chambers 1908

"Originally the waste arising from the manufacture of wool; now applied to the wool of old woven fabrics reduced to the state in which it was before being spun and woven, and thus fit for remanufacture; the inferior cloth made from this substance." Equinox ◑ 12:36, 12 December 2018 (UTC)

dishonest or disgraceful

dishonest or disgraceful
shoddy treatment
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009

--Backinstadiums (talk) 12:07, 7 November 2019 (UTC)