poor relation en · NOUN
Meanings
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Something neglected or seen as inferior.
In the State Department, Africa was the poor relation, handled as a subsidiary of the Middle East Bureau.
2007, Larry Devlin, Chief of station, Congo: a memoir of 1960-67, page 33:The Bakerloo Line, the poor relation of the London Underground, has become a huge talking point in terms of both its immediate and medium-term future.
2024 April 3, Howard Johnston, “TfL is overflowing with ideas... but is short of the capital”, in RAIL, number 1006, page 31:Because of our homosexuality the Black community casts us as outsiders. We are the poor relations, the proverbial black sheep, without a history, a literature, a religion, or a community
1986, Joseph Beam, “Introduction”, in In The Life, page 17:Competition policy was the poor relation of industrial policy. By the 1990s the position was reversed. Industrial policy was passe, competition policy was central to the economic policy debate.
1999, Stephen Wilks, Great Britain. Monopolies, Mergers Commission, In the public interest:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| poor relations | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (9)
fr parent pauvre (Translations) · it parente povero (Translations) · ru бе́дный ро́дственник (Translations) · es pariente pobre (Translations) · el φτωχός συγγενής (Translations) · pl ubogi krewny (Translations) · fi köyhä sukulainen (Translations) · nl stiefkindje (Translations) · nl stiefkind (Translations)