What does "knack" mean?
Knack: To speak affectedly. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Additional senses
- 2.A petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack. A knack, a toy, a trick, a baby's cap. Shak.
- 3.A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity. The fellow . . . has not the knack with his shears. B. Jonson. The dean was famous in his time, And had a kind of knack at rhyme. Swift.
- 4.Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device. "The knacks of japers." Chaucer. For how should equal colors do the knack ! Pope.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00