The Origin of Cheese

Behold, the mighty chiz!
This article is not about cheese, in case you are confused.

Hello All,

     A student asked me today where the term "cheesy," meaning "cheap or stereotypical," comes from.  I did not know at the time, but I promised I would look it up.  Based on some reliable sources, here is what I found.

     Cheesy, today, means "cheap, unpleasant, or blatantly inauthentic," at least according to the Apple dictionary.  It is cliche, stereotypical, or so unoriginal you can't help but wince.

     So far as historians can tell, however, the term comes from the Persian word chiz (pronounced just like cheese), which means "thing."  When the British invaded and occupied much of the Middle East and India in the early 1800s, they would refer to their native servants as "the real chiz," or the real thing / real deal.

     From there, it transferred to common British society in the middle 1800s, where it became associated more with "showy" instead of just excellent.  By the end of the 1800s, it meant gaudy or cheap, like oversized costume jewelry or overly dramatic gestures.  It wasn't long before it became a common term for anything stereotypically bad or cliche, which is how we know it today!

     Thank you, Jasmine, for the question!

Best,

Mr. DeMaris