corny

See also: čorny

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔːni/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔɹni/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)ni

Etymology 1

From Middle English corny, from corn +‎ -y; in the "hackneyed" sense, from "corn catalogue jokes", reputedly low-quality jokes that were formerly printed in mail-order seed catalogues.

Adjective

corny (comparative cornier, superlative corniest)

1. Boring and unoriginal.

   The duct tape and wire were a pretty corny solution.

2. Hackneyed or excessively sentimental.

   The movie was okay, but the love scene was really corny.

   He sent a bouquet of twelve red roses and a card: "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet, And so are you." How corny is that!

3. (obsolete) Producing corn or grain; furnished with grains of corn.
   • (Can we date this quote by Prior and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     The corny ear.

4. Containing corn; tasting well of malt.
   • (Can we date this quote by Chaucer and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     A draught of moist and corny ale.

5. (obsolete, UK, slang) tipsy; drunk

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Forby to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (hackneyed or excessively sentimental): kitsch, kitschy, cheesy, tacky, campy, schlocky, schmaltzy
• (drunk): drunkish, squiffy; see Thesaurus:drunk

Translations

insipid or trite

• French: banal (fr) m
• German: abgedroschen (de)
• Greek: τετριμμένος (el) m (tetrimménos)
• Indonesian: murahan (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 寒い (ja) (samui), べた
• Russian: бана́льный (ru) (banálʹnyj)
• Spanish: insipido

excessively sentimental

• Arabic: ثَقِيل الظَِلّ (ṯaqīl aẓ-ẓaill), سَخِيف (saḵīf)
• Bulgarian: сантиментален (bg) (santimentalen)
• Dutch: melig (nl), sentimenteel (nl), oubollig (nl), afgezaagd (nl)
• French: dégoulinant (fr) m, kitsch (fr) m, sirupeux (fr) m
• German: kitschig (de), schmalzig
• Greek: σαχλός (el) m (sachlós)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: sdolcinato (it)
• Norwegian: kårny
• Portuguese: meloso m, piegas (pt), brega (pt)
• Russian: сентиментальный (ru) (sentimentalʹnyj), слащавый (ru) (slaščavyj)
• Spanish: cursi (es)

Etymology 2

(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin cornu (“horn”).

Adjective

corny (comparative more corny, superlative most corny)

1. (obsolete) Strong, stiff, or hard, like a horn; resembling horn.
   • (Can we date this quote by Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Up stood the corny reed.

Anagrams

• Conry, crony, croyn, cry on

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Middle English

Etymology

From corn +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔrniː/, /ˈkɔːrniː/

Adjective

corny

1. (rare) fleshy, swollen
2. (rare) malty; tasting of malt.
3. (rare) Resembling a grain.

Descendants

• English: corny
• Scots: cornie (obsolete, rare)

References

• “cō̆rnī (adj.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-08.