Ersatz

Describes an artificial and inferior substitute or imitation. An adjective drawn from a German noun meaning "substitute," Ersatz was first prominently borrowed by English speakers during World Wars I and II, when it was frequently applied as an adjective to food products made in immitation of the real thing ? such as a coffee made from acorns, a flour made from potatoes, or a sugar made from sawdust.(pr. AYR-sahts or AYR-zahts)Also see allusion, analogy, appropriation, copy, copyright, counterfeit, derived image, facsimile, fake, forgery, kitsch, likeness, mirror, paint-by-number, plagiarism, replica, representation, reproduction, simile, simulacrum, and simulation.