tin-pot
See also: tinpot
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Originated in the 1700s, from the low esteem for a tinker's wares. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɪn.pɒt/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈtɪn.pɑːt/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
Adjective edit
tin-pot (not comparable)
- (informal) Inferior; shoddy.
- 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.
- (informal) Of a country, regime etc., autocratic, especially in a petty and amusing manner.
- 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.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
inferior, shoddy