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old gazoo

old gazoo

9.9
An old car that often breaks down and is not reliable
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : coche viejo
  • The old gazoo broke down again halfway to the store.

Examples

  • Don't trust that old gazoo to get you to work on time!

  • She finally traded in her old gazoo for something more reliable.

  • He always drives his old gazoo to work.

  • My grandfather's old gazoo still runs after all these years.

  • She finally traded in her old gazoo for something more reliable.

  • The old gazoo broke down again halfway to the store.

  • Don't trust that old gazoo to get you to work on time!

Synonyms

jalopy
vsold gazoo
  • Archaic
9 8.0

An old car in bad condition that often breaks down

is a broader label for any similarly old or unreliable vehicle
junker
vsold gazoo
  • Informal
4 6.1

An old car in bad condition that often breaks down

is the general name for any old or unreliable vehicle
clunker
vsold gazoo
  • Informal
3 5.2

An old car that is worn out and often breaks down

focuses on age and unreliability rather than specific faults
bucket of bolts
vsold gazoo
  • Informal
3 8.1

A vehicle that is old, noisy and often breaks down

covers the same old unreliability but not only physical disrepair
flivver
vsold gazoo
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small, cheap car that often breaks down

is about oldness and unreliability rather than small cheap size
old crock
vsold gazoo
  • UK
1 9.2

A worn-out thing like a car or bike that is not worth much

is specifically about vehicles rather than any old worthless object
old flivver
vsold gazoo
  • Archaic
9.8

An old car that often breaks and does not work well

is the simple, general way to say an old unreliable vehicle
real clanker
vsold gazoo
  • Slang
9.9

An old noisy car that often breaks down

describes the same old unreliability but without stressing noise or sound

How Worn

wreck
112 4.2
clunker
  • Informal
3 5.2
old gazoo
  • Archaic
9.9
jalopy
  • Archaic
9 8.0

Surface Forms

old gazoo singular
old gazooes plural

Morphology

old + gazoo

The meaning 'an old vehicle' is directly and transparently composed from 'old' (not new) modifying 'gazoo' (vehicle); an adjective+noun combination yields the expected literal interpretation. This follows a common, cross-linguistic compositional pattern and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words, despite 'gazoo' being informal or rare.

Etymology

The noun old gazoo may come from a simple picture: people likened a noisy, clattery car to a small buzzing toy like a kazoo, so the worn vehicle was called a gazoo. That's why old gazoo means 'an old or unreliable vehicle' today.