Word of the Day for Wednesday October 12, 2005 gewgaw \G(Y)OO-gaw\, noun: A showy trifle; a trinket; a bauble. Bidders paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthless gewgaws--fake pearls, ashtrays, golf clubs--merely, one supposes, because they were touched by the hand of this celebrity of celebrities. --Lawrence M. Friedman, [1]The Horizontal Society At least, you're tempted until you discover that the price of this gewgaw is $175. --Walter Shapiro, "Earn exciting prizes from the Republicans!" [2]USA Today, March 27, 2002 Walk into almost any department store, and there it is -- along with mounds of other gimmicky gadgets and garish gewgaws that (no offense, Vanna) the world can live without. --James A. Russell, "What the World Needs Now... Is Not Another Gimmicky Gadget or Worthless Doohickey," [3]St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 9, 1995 _________________________________________________________ The origin of gewgaw is uncertain. References 1. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300075456/ref=nosim/lexico 2. http://www.usatoday.com/ 3. http://www.stltoday.com/ Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=gewgaw