Here’s an interesting exchange between Lexington resident Cal Cunningham and Ramsay, Burgin and Smith architect Pete Bogle during the recent planning board discussion of a new downtown mixed-use development.
…Cunningham asked if the project would include wood paneling like that used on old homes in the neighborhood or cheaper materials that might give it a “chintzy” look….Ramsay, Burgin and Smith know the meaning of “chintzy,” Bogle said, but “we do not design with it.”
So I turn to my handy copy of Webster’s Dictionary and look up chintzy:
” [prec. + from the sleazy quality ofsome chintz fabrics] 1. like chintz. 2. (Colloq.) cheap, stingy, mean, petty, etc.”
Just in case you were wondering.