Definition

A vintage slang term from the Great Depression era describing an automobile so beat-up and rickety that it made the Joads' jalopy look like a Cadillac. Think of it as the 1930s equivalent of calling someone's car a "hooptie," except your grandparents actually used this word unironically while fleeing the Dust Bowl.

Example Usage

My grandfather still calls any old beater car a flivver, which confuses everyone at the used car lot.

Source: Urban Dictionary (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=flivver&defid=106258)