Cheap-looking, of poor quality, or unwilling to spend money; stingy or tacky.
From 'chintz' fabric (originally a fine Indian cotton) plus -y suffix. The negative connotation developed as mass-produced chintz became associated with low quality and poor taste by the early 20th century.
This is a perfect example of 'semantic downgrading'—where a once-luxurious material became so commonplace and poorly made that its very name became an insult, showing how context and mass production reshape language.
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