Threadbare

Origin

thread + bare

Full definition of threadbare

Adjective

1. (of cloth) shabby, frayed and worn to an extent that warp threads show
2. (of a person) wearing clothes of threadbare material
3. (of speech) banal or clichéd; trite or hackneyed
• 2012, August 21, Jason Heller, The Darkness: Hot Cakes (Music Review), When the album succeeds, such as on the swaggering, Queen-esque “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us,” it does so on The Darkness’ own terms—that is, as a random ’80s-cliché generator. But with so many tired, lazy callbacks to its own threadbare catalog (including “Love Is Not The Answer,” a watery echo of the epic “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” from 2003’s Permission To Land), Hot Cakes marks the point where The Darkness has stopped cannibalizing the golden age of stadium rock and simply started cannibalizing itself. And, despite Hawkins’ inveterate crotch-grabbing, there was never that much meat there to begin with.

Synonyms