Lexic.us

Definition of Threadbare

1. Adjective. Repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse. "The trite metaphor `hard as nails'"

2. Adjective. Having the nap worn away so that the threads show through. "Threadbare rugs"

Definition of Threadbare

1. a. Worn to the naked thread; having the nap worn off; threadbare clothes.

Definition of Threadbare

1. Adjective. (context: of cloth) shabby, frayed and worn to an extent that warp threads show ¹

2. Adjective. (context: of a person) wearing clothes of threadbare material ¹

3. Adjective. (context: of speech) banal or clichéd; trite or hackneyed ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Threadbare

1. [adj]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Threadbare

thread-fish thread blight thread count thread counts thread maker thread mode thread necromancy thread pool thread pool pattern thread pool patterns

thread pools thread snake thread the needle threadability threadable threadbare (current term) threadbareness threaded threaden threader

threaders threadfin threadfins threadfish threadfishes threadgoldite threadier threadiest threadiness threadinesses

Literary usage of Threadbare

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Common-place Book by Robert Southey (1849)
"... an old threadbare Bristow frieze gown, girded to his body with a penny leathern girdle, at which hanged by a long string of leather, his testament, ..."

2. Southey's Common-place Book by Robert Southey, John Wood Warter (1850)
"... with two broad flaps to button under his chin; an old threadbare Bristow frieze gown, girded to his body with a penny leathern girdle, at which hanged ..."

3. Life and Death of Mr. Badman and The Holy War by John Bunyan (1905)
"I must confess Mr. Badman was not so arch at the „ M first; that is, to do it by shew of Religion ; Badman did for now he began to grow threadbare, ..."

4. The Mimic World and Public Exhibitions: Their History, Their Morals, and Effects by Olive Logan (1871)
"Kings in threadbare Trowsers and Coats out at Elbows.—Ball-room Belles in India Rubber Overshoes.—Fa,iries in Thick Boots and Demons in Stovepipe Hats. ..."

5. Before the Footlights and Behind the Scenes: a Book about "the Show Business by Olive Logan (1870)
"Kings in threadbare Trowsers and Coats out at Elbows. — Ball-room Belles in India Rubber Overshoes. — Fairies in Thick Boots and Demons in Stovepipe Hats. ..."

6. The Mimic World and Public Exhibitions: Their History, Their Morals, and Effects by Olive Logan (1871)
"Kings in threadbare Trowsers and Coats out nt Elbows.—Ball-room Belles in India Rubber Overshoes.—Fairies in Thick Boots and Demons in Stovepipe Hats. ..."

7. Trilby by George Du Maurier (1894)
"Only Taffy, in his threadbare, out-at-elbow shooting-jacket and cricket-cap, and the Laird, in his tattered straw hat and Taffy's old overcoat down to his ..."

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