/ ˈtɔːdri; NAmE / adjective ( disapproving )
1.
intended to be bright and attractive but cheap and of low quality :
tawdry jewellery
2.
involving low moral standards; extremely unpleasant or offensive :
a tawdry affair
► taw·dri·ness noun [ U ]
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WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent.: short for tawdry lace , a fine silk lace or ribbon worn as a necklace in the 16th–17th cents, contraction of St Audrey's lace : Audrey was a later form of Etheldrida (died 679), patron saint of Ely where tawdry laces, along with cheap imitations and other cheap finery, were traditionally sold at a fair.