— threadbareness , n.
/thred"bair'/ , adj.
1. having the nap worn off so as to lay bare the threads of the warp and woof, as a fabric, garment, etc.
2. wearing threadbare clothes; shabby or poor: a threadbare old man.
3. meager, scanty, or poor: a threadbare emotional life.
4. hackneyed; trite; ineffectively stale: threadbare arguments.
[ 1325-75; ME thredbare. See THREAD, BARE 1 ]