tatty
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈtæti/
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -æti
Etymology 1
Clipping of potato.
Noun
tatty (plural tatties)
- (Scotland, Northern England, Geordie) A potato.
- 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 245:
- I'm buying fucking tatties.
Alternative forms
Etymology 2
Adjective
tatty (comparative tattier, superlative tattiest)
- Tattered; dilapidated, distressed, worn-out, torn
- The tramp wore a tatty old overcoat.
- 2007, Arctic Monkeys, “The Bakery”, in Fluorescent Adolescent:
- I wish you would have smiled in the bakery
Or sat on a tatty settee
At a mutual friend's gathering
- 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 67:
- I have arrived to catch the 0830 TfW service to Crewe, worked by a tatty and unrefurbished 175114. As if ashamed of its appearance, it slinks into Platform 2 (instead of Platform 1, where it was expected). No announcement had been made, and we leave without any fanfare.
- 2025 July 22, Lucy Knight, “‘Look how well-read I am!’ How ‘books by the metre’ add the final touch to your home – or your image”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN:
- Hubbard says he could easily take on more books than he would be able to sell, and some “tatty paperbacks” have such a low value that they end up getting recycled.
Translations
ragged, worn out, torn
Etymology 3
From Hindi [Term?].
Noun
tatty (plural tatties)
- (India) A woven mat or screen hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters.
- 1855, Pharoah and Co, A Gazetteer of Southern India, page 553:
- […] tatties are placed in front of the verandahs to keep out the rains during the monsoon; […]
Alternative forms
Etymology 4
Noun
tatty (plural tatties)
Alternative forms
See also
Scots
Noun
tatty (plural tatties)
- alternative form of tattie