chanky old car
- noun
- Informal
:
coche viejo
- She refused to go on a road trip in that chanky old car, fearing it would break down.
Examples
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The chanky old car rattled noisily down the street, leaving a trail of smoke behind.
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Every winter, his chanky old car struggles to start in the cold mornings.
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My brother drives a chanky old car.
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Don't buy that chanky old car!
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Every winter, his chanky old car struggles to start in the cold mornings.
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She refused to go on a road trip in that chanky old car, fearing it would break down.
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The chanky old car rattled noisily down the street, leaving a trail of smoke behind.
Synonyms
43
7.0
An old car that does not work well and is in bad shape
9
8.0
An old car in bad condition that often breaks down
4
6.1
An old car in bad condition that often breaks down
3
5.2
An old car that is worn out and often breaks down
An old noisy car that often breaks down
An old car that often breaks down and does not work well
An old car that often breaks and does not work well
A car that often does not start or breaks down
How Reliable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The key meaning is carried by 'chanky', a non-standard/slang adjective not found in the dictionary, so a B1 learner who only knows 'old' and 'car' would not reliably infer 'unreliable/poorly maintained'. 'Old car' alone only signals age, not mechanical unreliability, and the form 'chanky' is unpredictable from its parts, making the phrase idiomatic and not compositionally transparent.
Etymology
The phrase chanky old car may come from the noisy 'clank' of broken metal and loose parts in an old car. When a car keeps making those clanks, people call it chanky, so chanky old car means 'unreliable' and in bad shape.