Do people say something is "too shabby" ??

The word "shabby" has seen a lot less use than in the 1800-1900's, but the phrase 'not too shabby' has stuck around. "Too shabby" is not an idiom people use. They just say something is shabby.

People still say “shabby”, usually to describe restaurants, hotels, or apartments. 

Shabby is a word, meaning run-down or in poor condition. When people say something like “not too shabby” or “not too bad”, they mean that something isn’t bad/shabby enough that it becomes problematic.

Dont think of it like [(not) too shabby], its more like [(not too) shabby]. As in ‘shabby’ is a word describing something as poor condition or run down. So the phrase is more like ‘oh thats decent’, Or ‘oh, thats not too bad at all’ (which I think is the closest version). You wouldnt think of ‘too bad’ as a fixed phrase right? Its ‘bad’ that youve added something to. People still use ‘shabby’ by itself occasionally to describe something, although I dont personally hear it much at all. As another comment suggested, I think its most useful for the likes of: restaurants, apartments, hotels etc. Apologies if this is a little confusing, my brain is like mush atm

Shabby is common in British English - there is a style of interior decoration ’shabby chic’. It is used by a number of companies in their brand names.

Usually you'd hear "this place is looking shabby" or "a bit shabby". You may hear less frequently "I was going to buy X but it was too shabby"

I feel that in the UK We're taking the word "shabby" (a word with negative meaning) and putting a more positive spin on it. It seems like a good example of how British people feel the need to understate things, to downplay even quite positive results and outcomes.

Too shabby is a weird one, but I'd use shabby in everyday speech. It basically means "run down/worn out" or "unkempt and messy." A shabby apartment would be one with old scuffed floors, cracked walls, peeling paint, etc. A man with a shabby appearance might be unshaven, hair unkempt, wrinkled or threadbare clothes, that sort of thing. Saying "not too shabby" is usually used semi-sarcastically as a way to downplay how impressive something is: it's like saying "not half bad" for something that's clearly great.

You can describe something as “shabby” but at least where I live it’s getting to be outdated. “Not too shabby” is definitely an independent idiom that I hear more often than “shabby” being used as an adjective on its own.

Good question. I've never heard it.

I still use this phrase.

“Not too shabby” is a pretty common set phrase. Basically meaning better quality or appearance than you’d expect. I wouldn’t call it an idiom though. You could make that statement alone and your meaning would be understood. It’s very commonly used ironically as a light-hearted compliment if used about someone’s appearance. “Too shabby” isn’t a set phrase, you would need a bigger sentence or some other context to be able to make that statement alone. If you were sorting clothing items for instance I could see someone saying “too small… too out of style… too shabby” as you go through items. Otherwise shabby is just a normal adjective to describe something being worn out, tired, old, etc. though it isn’t extremely common compared to “not too shabby”

When I (a 49 yr old middle-class Londoner) am feeling a little fruity I might well refer to something as being "none too shabby".

This is a rhetorical device called "litotes," which employs double negation (and which is not unique to English), and so its relationship in meaning to the literal removal of the word "not" is nonstandard. One might absolutely describe something as "too shabby," but rarely in isolation. You might describe a sandwich as "too small," but only because the operational purpose of a sandwich is very clear ("too small \[to satiate me\]," for example). Items of clothing might be "too shabby to wear to a high class restaurant," but you'd probably have to spell that out since they might be perfectly suitable to wear to sleep in. But the purpose of "not too shabby" is, practically, to describe something *positively*, as well-constructed, and approval often gets to be a bit less *specific* and more generic than disapproval.

"Shabby chic" is still a thing.

The word "shabby" can be used alone. However, the phrase "too shabby" is not by itself an idiom. When you use the word "too" or "not too" in the general case to emphasize an adjective, there as always a comparison, even if it is implied. You could say something like "those clothes are too shabby for me" or "I considered moving into that neighborhood, but it was too shabby \[for me to move into\]." However, with "not too shabby," no comparison is necessarily implied, as in (1): 1. I just ran 100m in 9 seconds! - Not too shabby! 2. The bank foreclosed on my house! - Too bad! In (2), you can't say "too shabby." It doesn't make any sense. In that case, there is a different idiom involving "too."

an interesting and semi-relevant topic related to this is the topic of “fossil words”. Fossil words are words used only in phrases and idioms, and not in daily speech. For example, in the very common phrase “without further ado”. “Ado” is not a word that is used, ever really, in everyday English. Another example is in the phrase “running amok” meaning something along the lines of “going crazy”, using the word “amok” in replacement of a word like “everywhere” or “uncontrollably” or something. However the word “amok” can’t be used by itself. You can’t “amok-ly” do something, and you can’t jump “amok”. It’s just one of those fossil words. In relation to your question, although shabby is a word by itself and can be used comprehensively, it’s not entirely common; at least I practically never hear it, but it can be used as a word non-idiomatically.

No. But I’m gonna start

I am sure it has been said but it's not a preset phrase or idiom.

Yes

Not as a set phrase. "Shabby" is a word, but a rare one, so using "not too shabby" as a set phrase is based on it being unusual and a little silly.

Not too shabby means not very shabby. Too shabby isn't a phrase, but shabby is a word to describe something on poor condition. If something is not too shabby, it's in good condition. For whatever reason the phrase "not too shabby" stuck around while the word shabby on its own almost never gets used anymore

Most typically I hear this in terms of clothing. However, I've heard it a few times before, but it has been a while.

We don’t really use “too shabby.” We do describe things as shabby (old, worn, usually poor quality, like a “shabby hotel” or “shabby clothes”) and for something to be “not too shabby” means it’s good or at least decidedly Not Bad, but I’ve never heard someone say something is “too shabby.”

You really don't hear people saying shabby too much anymore.

It's used sometimes, but generally I'd consider it to be a [fossil word](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_word)

Describing “shabbiness” like a measurable trait sounds unnatural to me; “this coat is much shabbier than this one,” “our hotel room is too shabby,” “I wish my house was a little less shabby.” So using “shabby” as a noun modifier like “shabby apartment” is common, but “too shabby” is unusual, at least in America.

not that i’m aware of in US. “not too shabby” is mid 20th century american slang & it’s usually said admiringly or in a congratulatory sort of way. it’s like saying “well done!” “too shabby” might be used as an adjectival phrase such as, “this house is too shabby to spend time and money fixing up.”

Shabby means unkempt or poorly put together. It would be like saying something's "not too bad." You wouldn't say something is "too bad" you would just say it's bad.

No, because “shabby” is basically esoteric or obsolete I can’t remember the right word for “no longer used/popular.” We do still say (occasionally) not too shabby to mean like “good job.”

No but it's funny to imagine lmfao