word history: Tawdry is short for tawdry lace, a kind of fine silk lace or ribbon worn in the 16th and 17th centuries. The word is a contraction of Saint Audrey's lace, named after the patron saint of Ely, who is said to have died of a tumour of the neck, which she considered to be retribution for her liking for necklaces in her youth. ‘Tawdry laces’ were sold at the fairs held every year in her memory. Much of the merchandise would have been of low quality, a fact which gave rise to the modern negative associations of the word tawdry.