What is the meaning of meretricious as it is used in this sentence from “The Gift of the Magi”?
It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its vale by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation—as all good things should do.
(1 point)
Responses
showy and vulgar
showy and vulgar
fashionable and glitzy
fashionable and glitzy
low-quality and cheap
low-quality and cheap
ridiculous and exaggerated
ridiculous and exaggerated
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showy and vulgar
In this sentence, meretricious means showy and vulgar, indicating that good things should not rely on flashy or tacky ornamentation to proclaim their value.