Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a whim or fancy.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Tringum-trangum, a Whim, or Maggot.
1698		N. Ward London Spy I 1: My Brains loaded to no purpose, with as many Antiquated Tringum Trangums as are lodg’d in the Whimsical Noddle of an old Astrologer.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Tringum trangum, a whim, or maggot.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1863		W. Aus. Times 22 Oct. 4/3: May the eagles fly away with these trinkum-trankums of great people.
1868		Huddersfield Chron. 11 Jan. 3/1: ‘Confound all the trinkum-trankums of the great, say I’.

2. a trifle.

1842		Westminster Gaz. 15 Jan. 4/4: Trinkum-trankum shops, salacious book and print shops, thorns in the side of the Suppression of Vice Society.
1859		Sthn Reporter (Cork) 20 Oct. 4/5: Ribbons, crosses, claps, and diversified decorations, enough to furnish a couple of stalls in a fancy bazaar with trinkum-trankums.
1875		Leeds Times 27 Nov. 6/3: Who will have all these jewels and trinkum-trankums when she is put in her grave.
1889		Aus. Star (Sydney) 21 Oct. 2/2: ‘Ye’ll better just flit bag and baggage, hinny, if yon bonny bird-cage will hold all your trinkum-trankums’.
1893		Critic (Hobart, Tas.) 4 Mar. 5/1: [T]hen he held up sornehing what sparkled in the fire-light [...] Lemon put his trinkum trankum away.
1894		Tenbury Wells Advertiser 13 Nov. 3/1: ‘Didn’t Mickey drop one of your mistress’s fine trinkum-trankums iomnto your pocket?’.
1895		Hartford Courant (CT) 19 Aug. 11/2: Sophiy will have reason enough for her muslins and ribbons, and trinkum-trankums’.
1921		Illus. Sporting & Dramatic News (London) 24 Sept. 18/2: ‘Medals and spoons, buttons and bowls, and all finds of trinkum trankums of [...] varying significance’.