gubbins
noun

- a collection of objects that are not important

- odds and ends

- an object of little or no value

- a small device or gadget

Cambridge Dictionary / Collins Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN



The etymology of "gubbins" is delightfully murky and disputed, with several competing theories:

The most commonly cited source is the obsolete word gobbon, meaning a fragment, piece, or chunk (especially of flesh or food). This may derive from Old French gobet (a mouthful, morsel, lump).

"Gubbins" appears to have emerged in British dialect, particularly in Devon and Cornwall, before spreading more widely.

Some suggest a link to "gudgeon" (a type of small fish, or a gullible person), though this is less convincing for the "bits and pieces" meaning.

Possibly from giobal or giobail (rags, tatters, scraps), though the phonetic connection is uncertain.

The word may simply be imitative or nonsense-sounding, following patterns like "thingamabob" or "whatsit."

16th-17th centuries: "Gubbins" referred to fish parings, scraps, or fragments (especially food waste).

18th-19th centuries: Extended to mean any odds and ends, refuse, or miscellaneous bits.

20th century: Took on the more affectionate, less negative meaning of "bits and bobs" or general paraphernalia.

Modern British English: Now commonly used for gadgets, mechanisms, accessories, or any collection of small miscellaneous items.

The true origin remains somewhat uncertain—"gubbins" is one of those wonderfully vague English words whose etymology is almost as jumbled as the miscellaneous items it describes!

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SYNONYMS

all sorts, bits and bobs, bits and pieces, bric-a-brac, clutter, doodads, falderal, flotsam, frippery, frills, fuddle, gadgetry, gaudy bits, gimcracks, gewgaws, GUBBINS, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, junk, knickknacks, miscellany, mumbo jumbo, nicknacks, nonessentials, odds and ends, paraphernalia, parapets of junk, randoms, rigmarole, thingamajigs, whatnots

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SMUGGLE
 OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Do you have a room, a space, a drawer, or a box where you keep all your GUBBINS?”

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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D