@boomerang,
a geegaw tchotchke and knickknack are practically the same thing. Geegaw is sometimes used to describe pretentious items not necessarily useful....depending on the part of the country to live in. there is one other word, gimcrack which usually indicates a showy, useless trinket. knickknacks and tchotchkes are used in either a brilliant or drab collection of collectible crap people like to display in their homes.
