jalopy

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Origin: 1929

We find a definition in print in 1929: "Jaloppi--A cheap make of automobile; an automobile fit only for junking." The definition has stayed the same, but it took a while for the spelling to stop bouncing around. Among the variants have been jallopy, jaloppy, jollopy, jaloopy, jalupie, julappi, jalapa, and jaloppie.

John Steinbeck spelled it gillopy in In Dubious Battle (1936): "Sam trotted off toward the bunk houses, and London followed more slowly. Mac and Jim circled the building and went to the ancient Ford touring car. 'Get in, Jim. You drive the gillopy.' A roar of voices came from the other side of the bunk house. Jim turned the key and retarded the spark lever. The coils buzzed like little rattlesnakes."

Jalopy seems to have replaced flivver (1910), which in the early decades of the twentieth century also simply meant "a failure." Other early terms for a wreck of a car included heap, tin lizzie (1915), and crate (1927). But where jalopy came from, nobody knows.

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noun
/dʒə'lɒpɪ/ Also gillopy, jalapa, jollopy, jallopy, jaloppi(e) /dʒə'lɒpɪ/
Also gillopy, jalapa, jollopy, jallopy, jaloppi(e)
noun, orig US

A dilapidated old motor vehicle. (1929 —) .
M. E. B. Banks Perhaps a succession of broken down jalopies has impaired my faith in the internal combustion engine (1955).

[Origin unknown.]

Previous:	jakes, jakeloo, jake
Next:	jam, jam jar, jam sandwich

For a list of words related to jalopy, see:

• Types of Automobiles - jalopy: dilapidated automobile

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See words rhyming with "jalopy."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Jalopy.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - skrotbunke, gammelt vrag, skrammelkasse, lig

Nederlands (Dutch)
oud wrak (b.v. auto)

Français (French)
n. - vieux tacot, guimbarde

Deutsch (German)
n. - Klapperkiste

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σαραβαλάκι, σακαράκα

Italiano (Italian)
macinino, trabiccolo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - calhambeque (m) (coloq.)

Русский (Russian)
драндулет

Español (Spanish)
n. - cacharro, cafetera, automóvil o avión destartalado

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bilskrälle, rishög

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
老爷汽车, 老爷飞机

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 老爺汽車, 老爺飛機

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 낡은 것, 구식 자동차

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ぼろ自動車

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سيارة عتيقه, سيارة كهنه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מכונית ישנה, גרוטה‬

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