Spot the Frippet: something manky.

No, not something manly; something manky.

Something manky (at least here in South East England) will be a bit dirty, a bit worn, a bit disgusting. The sort of object you don't want to touch or have in the house.

You know that suitcase covered in mildew in the loft? It's gone all manky.

You know that café where the ketchup is crusted darkly round the top of the bottle, and the glasses are opalescent with limescale and the ghosts of old orders?

You know that shop where the paint is peeling off the door, and the advertisements stuck in the window have long faded to illegibility?

You know the stuff down the back of the sofa?

And the floor under the washing machine?

All a bit manky, probably.

The dictionary says that things that are worthless, rotten, or in bad taste are manky, too - but that's not the case round here.

Well, in that case manky would describe more or less everything, wouldn't it.

Spot the Frippet: something manky. This word came to England via Polari from Italy. The Italian mancare means to be lacking.