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threadbare

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
thread·bare  (thrdbâr)
adj.
1. Having the nap worn down so that the filling or warp threads show through; frayed or shabby: threadbare rugs.
2. Wearing old, shabby clothing.
3. Overused to the point of being worn out; hackneyed: threadbare excuses.

threadbare [ˈθrɛdˌbɛə]
adj
1. (of cloth, clothing, etc.) having the nap worn off so that the threads are exposed
2. meagre or poor a threadbare existence
3. hackneyed a threadbare argument
4. wearing threadbare clothes; shabby
threadbareness  n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.threadbarethreadbare - repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; "bromidic sermons"; "his remarks were trite and commonplace"; "hackneyed phrases"; "a stock answer"; "repeating threadbare jokes"; "parroting some timeworn axiom"; "the trite metaphor `hard as nails'"
unoriginal - not original; not being or productive of something fresh and unusual; "the manuscript contained unoriginal emendations"; "his life had been unoriginal, conforming completely to the given pattern"- Gwethalyn Graham
2.threadbare - having the nap worn away so that the threads show through; "threadbare rugs"
worn - affected by wear; damaged by long use; "worn threads on the screw"; "a worn suit"; "the worn pockets on the jacket"

threadbare
adjective
1. shabby, worn, frayed, old, ragged, worn-out, scruffy, tattered, tatty, down at heel She sat cross-legged on a square of threadbare carpet.
shabby new, good, smart, brand-new, well-preserved
2. hackneyed, common, tired, stale, corny (slang), stock, familiar, conventional, stereotyped, commonplace, well-worn, trite, clichéd, overused, cliché-ridden the government's threadbare domestic policies
hackneyed new, different, original, fresh, novel, unusual, unfamiliar, unconventional
Translations
threadbare [ˈθredbɛəʳ] ADJ [coat, blanket, carpet] → raído, gastado (fig) [argument] → trillado
threadbare [ˈθrɛdbɛər] adj [carpet] → râpé(e), élimé(e)
threadbare
adjabgewetzt, fadenscheinig; clothes alsoabgetragen; carpet alsoabgelaufen; (fig) argumentfadenscheinig; jokeabgedroschen; ideaveraltet
threadbare [ˈθrɛdˌbɛəʳ] adj (coat, blanket) → logoro/a, consumato/a, liso/a (fig) (argument) → trito/a
threadbare [ˈθrɛdˌbɛəʳ] adj (coat, blanket) → logoro/a, consumato/a, liso/a (fig) (argument) → trito/a


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
They found Mary, as usual, deep in the study of thorough-bass and human nature; and had some extracts to admire, and some new observations of threadbare morality to listen to.
He wore the same suit that I had seen him in five years before; it was torn and stained, threadbare, and it hung upon him loosely, as though it had been made for someone else.
No prepossession for the mere antique (and in this case we can imagine no other prepossession) should induce us to dignify with the sacred name of poetry, a series, such as this, of elaborate and threadbare compliments, stitched, apparently, together, without fancy, without plausibility, and without even an attempt at adaptation.
 
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