Some words sound funny. Some words look funny. Flivver is both. What in the world does it mean?

A. To shiver or shake.
B. A party girl of The Roaring Twenties.
C. Extremely thin, gaunt.
D. Something of poor quality or inferior grade.
E. To sway unsteadily, change one’s mind.

Believe it or not, the word flivver means … something of poor quality or inferior grade. It’s a slang word that goes way back. Early on, in the days of the Model T, flivver had a more precise meaning than it does today. It was slang for a cheap or inferior automobile.

In fact, some sources say that the Model T itself was called a flivver, on account of the noise that came from its exhaust system.

I much prefer the Model T’s other nickname, Tin Lizzie.

Questions
Have you ever owned a flivver? What kind of car was it? My most memorable flivver was a blue ‘88 Chevy Caprice. Parts of it fell off pretty much every time you hit a pothole.

PS - A party girl of The Roaring Twenties was known as a flapper.