tawdry [E17th] Tawdry was originally short for tawdry lace [M16th], a fine silk lace or ribbon worn as a necklace in the 16th and 17th centuries, a contraction of the original term St Audrey’s lace. Audrey was a Latinized form of Etheldreda, name of the 7th-century patron saint of Ely, who was said to have worn many showy necklaces in her youth, before she became a nun. When she became terminally ill with a throat tumour she saw her illness as retribution for her vanity. Tawdry laces, along with other finery, were traditionally sold at St Etheldreda’s Fair in Ely, and their cheapness and poor quality led to the modern associations of tawdry.