tin-pot en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈtɪnpɒt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (General-American) audio
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈtɪnˌpɑt/ (General-American)
Etymology
From tin + pot, referring to the cheapness and poor quality of pots made from tin or tin plate.
Meanings
-
(figuratively, informal, not-comparable) Of inferior quality; shoddy.
It was a great comfort to turn from that chap to my influential friend, the battered, twisted, ruined, tin-pot steamboat.
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:
-
(figuratively, informal, not-comparable) Insignificant or minor, especially in an amusing and petty manner.
Jim Hacker: Why are we having an official visit from this tin-pot little African country? / Sir Humphrey Appleby: Minister, I beg of you not to refer to it as a tin-pot little African country. It's an LDC.
1980 March 3, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “The Official Visit”, in Yes, Minister, season 1, episode 2, spoken by Jim Hacker and Humphrey Appleby (Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne):
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tin pot | alternative | lexicographic | |
| tinpot | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
TPLAC · tin-pot dictatorship · tin-pot dictator
Relateds
Synonyms
floccinaucinihilipilificatious · bottom-shelf · slim · third-rate · nothingburger · ticky-tacky · picayunish · scrubby · cheap · shit · base · ticky-tacky · immaterial · woeful · piddly · pissass · indifferent · under par · pointless · low-grade · gash · picayune · below par · garbage · one-star · tin-pot · coffee-and · cheapshit · cheap and nasty · BTEC · low · lousy · null · wretched · pound-shop · fourth-rate · ropy · subpar · silly · vain · low-rent · tenth-rate · shitty · negligible · piddling · unimportant · punk · drecky · trash · slight · futile · cruddy · nondescript · crummy · shoddy · ignorable · made in China · trifling · base · low-quality · dogwater · miserable · for the birds · naughty · rubbish · poor · mean · slight · flimsy · cheesy · inconsequential · pissant · frivolous · crap · simple · bad · pathetic · crappy · contemptible · chintzy · piteous · foolish · craptastic · substandard · tin-pot · slazy · meager · trivial · ass · like a fart in a windstorm · wretched · inferior · crapperific · insignificant · trashy · crappo · bum · minor · sad · paltry · shite · craptabulous · unweighty · pitiful · two-bit · poor man's · worthless · schlocky · petty · idle · inconsiderable · craptacular · god-awful · mid · second-rate · rinky-dink
Translations (5)
bg евтин (of inferior quality; shoddy) · es de pacotilla (of inferior quality; shoddy) · bg долнокачествен (of inferior quality; shoddy) · pl nędzny (of inferior quality; shoddy) · pl lichy (of inferior quality; shoddy)