old flivver
- noun
- Archaic
- My grandfather still drives his old flivver, and it often breaks down on country roads.
Examples
-
The mechanic laughed when he saw the old flivver sputtering into the garage.
-
We barely made it to the concert in that old flivver of yours.
-
My grandfather still drives his old flivver on country roads every weekend.
-
That old flivver barely starts in the morning.
-
My grandfather drove an old flivver for years.
-
The mechanic sighed when he saw the old flivver struggling to start in the garage.
-
We almost missed our trip because of the unreliable engine in that old flivver you own.
Synonyms
11
5.2
An old car that is worn out and often breaks down
8
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
1
9.9
A small, cheap car that often breaks down
1
9.2
A worn-out thing like a car or bike that is not worth much
An old car that often breaks down and does not work well
An old noisy car that often breaks down
An old car that often breaks down because it is not well looked after
An old car that often breaks down and is not reliable
An old, large car that uses a lot of fuel and seems out of date
How Worn
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'flivver' already denotes an old, inexpensive, often unreliable car, and the adjective 'old' simply reinforces age/poor condition; the meaning is a straightforward adjective + noun composition. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Old flivver comes from early 1900s American slang. One popular story says flivver was a funny word people used for cheap cars that rattled and often broke down, so an old flivver means 'an old, unreliable car'.