hackney
/ˈhækni/
adjective
- Overused and therefore lacking in originality or interest; trite.
- The plot of the novel felt hackney and predictable.
- The comedian's hackney jokes made the audience groan.
- She avoided hackney phrases like 'think outside the box' in her writing.
verb
- To make something overused or unoriginal by frequent repetition.
- The song's melody was hackneyed by endless cover versions.
- Don't hackney your speech with too many clichés.
- The media has hackneyed the phrase 'new normal' so much that it has lost its meaning.
noun
- A horse that is available for hire, especially one used for riding or pulling a carriage.
- The old hackney trotted slowly through the city streets.
- The stable kept several hackneys for tourists who wanted to explore the town.
- In the 19th century, many people rented a hackney for a day trip to the countryside.
- A taxi or a car for hire, especially in the past.
- They flagged down a hackney to take them to the train station.
- Before ride-sharing apps, you had to call a hackney from a cab stand.
- The hackney driver knew all the shortcuts through the busy city.
- A person or thing that is overused and has become dull or unoriginal.
- That joke is such a hackney; everyone has heard it a hundred times.
- The movie was a hackney of old horror clichés.
- His speech was full of hackneys and didn't say anything new.
Synonyms