Meaning
Weak, frail, sickly, or flimsy — lacking strength, substance, or robustness, whether in a person, an animal, or a thing. The doubling of 'fenke-fenke' intensifies the sense of feebleness, picturing something so slight and delicate it can barely hold up. Close to 'winjy' and 'crawny', it is used with a note of scorn or pity for the puny and the flimsy, from a sickly child to shoddy, insubstantial work or goods.
Examples
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Dat fenke fenke chair caan hol yuh weight.
That flimsy chair can't hold your weight.
Applied to a poorly made object.
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Him a nyam betta now, im nuh so fenke fenke again.
He's eating better now, he's not so frail anymore.
Describing a person recovering their strength.
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Mi nuh want no fenke fenke rope fi tie di goat.
I don't want any flimsy rope to tie the goat.
Reduplication is characteristic of Patois emphasis.
Origin
Likely of West African origin, with reduplication a common feature of Akan and other Kwa languages used for intensification; the exact source word is uncertain.
How it’s used
Descriptive and mildly disparaging. Reduplication (saying it twice) is essential; a single 'fenke' is rarely used alone.