jimdandy

9.9

A person or thing that is very good at what they do

noun
/ˈdʒɪmˌdændi/

Archaic

: excelente

Everyone agreed that the pie she baked was a jimdandy.

Examples

The new car is a real jimdandy when it comes to performance.
He considered himself a jimdandy at fixing things around the house.
What a jimdandy idea!
That was a real jimdandy of a performance!
Many people say that his homemade lasagna is a real jimdandy of a dish.
She received a jimdandy compliment from the teacher for her excellent project.
The festival was filled with jimdandy attractions that delighted everyone.

Synonyms

dilly

vsjimdandy

Archaic

11 8.6

A person or thing that is very good and impressive

is similar but used more neutrally without playful feeling

crackerjack

vsjimdandy

Informal

9 8.4

A person or thing that is very good at what they do

is used for any outstanding example without stressing skill

dinger

vsjimdandy

Slang

5 8.6

A person or thing that is unusually good

is more neutral, meaning excellent without surprise or novelty

corker

vsjimdandy

Archaic

2 9.9

A person or thing that is very good and surprising

is the neutral modern term for outstanding without dated tone

gooder

vsjimdandy

1 9.3

Something that is very good or impressive

is a standard term for excellence rather than a slang label

Antonyms

ordinary

683 1.0

Normal and not special or unusual

mediocre

109 4.8

Only average in quality and not very good

How Good

jimdandy

Archaic

9.9

standout

18 4.2

good example

111 1.4

ordinary

683 1.0

Surface Forms

jimdandy singular

jimdandies plural

Morphology

jimdandy = Jim + dandy (semi-transparent) = jim + dandy

The components 'Jim' and 'dandy' are visible, and 'dandy' can mean 'excellent', but the role of 'Jim' is obscure and the phrase is lexicalized, so learners cannot fully derive the meaning from parts alone.

Etymology

Jimdandy probably comes from joining the common name Jim with the word dandy, where dandy means 'very good' or 'stylish'. A helpful way to remember it is to picture a man called Jim who is extra special, so a jimdandy is an 'outstanding' or 'excellent' person or thing.