(n., sing.; adj.) GAH-tsee. Garish, overly ornamented art, architecture, or furnishings, often, but not exclusively Italian rococo and its (even worse) imitators. Examples include Louis XV furniture painted white with gold trim (e.g., Elena Ceausescu's collection), table lamps with oil that drips down the outside, and the Vittorio Emmanuel memorial in Rome.
Derivation: mishearing of the word "gauche" mispronouced as "GAH-chee": as the misheard "GAH-tsee" sounded Italian and the term was often used of the yard ornaments of an Italian-American neighbor, the alternate version stuck.
Derivation: mishearing of the word "gauche" mispronouced as "GAH-chee": as the misheard "GAH-tsee" sounded Italian and the term was often used of the yard ornaments of an Italian-American neighbor, the alternate version stuck.
by Michael Gallagher/Mark Bitgood May 30, 2006