tin-pot

See also: tinpot

English

WOTD – 13 March 2008

Etymology

From tin +‎ pot, referring to the cheapness and poor quality of pots made from tin or tin plate.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪnpɒt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪnˌpɑt/

• Audio (General American):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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Adjective

tin-pot (not comparable) (figurative, informal)

1. Of inferior quality; shoddy.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:low-quality

   • 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:

     It was a great comfort to turn from that chap to my influential friend, the battered, twisted, ruined, tin-pot steamboat.

2. Insignificant or minor, especially in an amusing and petty manner.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:insignificant

   • 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):

     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.

Alternative forms

• tinpot, tin pot

Derived terms

• tin-pot dictator
• tin-pot dictatorship

Related terms

• tin-foil
• tin plate

Translations

of inferior quality; shoddy

• Bulgarian: евтин (bg) (evtin), долнокачествен (bg) (dolnokačestven)
• Polish: lichy (pl) m, nędzny (pl) m

insignificant or minor, especially in an amusing and petty manner — see insignificant,‎ minor

Further reading

• “tin-pot, adj.”, in Collins English Dictionary; from Michael Agnes, editor, Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th edition, Cleveland, Oh.: Wiley, 2010, →ISBN.
• “tin-pot, adj.”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• Tipton