What's the difference between knack and knickknack?

Knack


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink.
  • (v. i.) To speak affectedly.
  • (n.) A petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack.
  • (n.) A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity.
  • (n.) Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) His office - with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall offering views over a Bradford suburb and distant moors - is devoid of knick-knacks or memorabilia.
  • (2) For one day only, the criteria for success shift from the ability to do long division to the ability to do the long jump, a knack for reciting facts to a knack for running fast.
  • (3) Garfield has a history of making interesting choices and a knack for using his edgy watchfulness to steal scenes from some of the best actors in the business.
  • (4) Doyle may be knacked too … 12.47pm GMT 30 min: Leeds are bossing this and playing some wonderful football.
  • (5) He has a knack for always knowing the right thing to say to them.
  • (6) Abbott appeared to have the same knack until he got into government, after which time his lack of ideas and direction have seen his party – and especially his cabinet – crumble.
  • (7) Bayern, even with 10 men, had an unerring knack of keeping the ball.
  • (8) Knack There were hidden areas he could smash open, collecting components that could be made into helpful items – such as one that harvests energy from enemies that could be used for special attacks.
  • (9) It was not the worst performance of Chelsea’s season by any measure and they gave everything during their late search for an equaliser, but they have lost their knack of recovering from going behind and Marko Arnautovic’s goal, eight minutes into the second half, was decisive.
  • (10) Young-gamer-friendly The Knack is a simple but imaginative action-adventure, while InFamous: Second Son , a third-person superpowers-themed title, really looked a step ahead of the current platforms, presenting a glorious and inventive spectacle.
  • (11) And on those occasions when the chefs can’t cook up a compromise, the EU has a knack for defusing a crisis by “kicking the can down the road” or some other variant of delaying a day of reckoning or fudging a fundamental problem.
  • (12) Sturridge, nonetheless, has a wonderful knack of not becoming dispirited.
  • (13) Louis van Gaal’s knack for escapism has been a pronounced feature of the season but on a wild night in east London, when West Ham United yelled farewell to their home of 112 years, the Manchester United manager could not summon the trick when he needed it so sorely.
  • (14) Updated at 4.45pm BST 3.44pm BST 3.37pm BST Meet the team Left to right: Gary (the driver), Benji (knee-knacked blogger), Hollis (the photographer) 3.24pm BST 3.10pm BST Chicago playlist While we're waiting for Benji and the team to get their first coffee rush going, let's spin a few tunes courtesy of our resident DJ @jaimeblack at Dynasty Podcasts .
  • (15) I suppose that in my highly anxious 20s I developed a knack for viewing my future with the lowest possible expectations of happiness.
  • (16) Long known for its knack for borrowing from the catwalk and repurposing for the high street in a more wearable way, Zara’s success also relies on trial and error.
  • (17) The arrogant have a knack of papering over chasms in their arguments.
  • (18) The knack is to find your own inspiration, and take it on a journey to create work that is personal and revealing.
  • (19) And that is true, but as far the popular perception of the world is concerned, Argentina is celebrated only on account of its knack of producing, generation after generation, great footballers and teams.
  • (20) Tom Watson is a formidable political operator with an uncanny knack for being at the centre of Labour party dramas.

Knickknack


Definition:

  • (n.) A trifle or toy; a bawble; a gewgaw.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It is a theatrically cluttered space full of her varied knickknacks, including cushions embroidered with images of her beloved dogs , a DVD of a BBC docudrama on Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor and, quizzically, a book titled The Married Kama Sutra.

Words possibly related to "knickknack"