English edit

Etymology edit

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation edit

  • (file)

Noun edit

no great shakes (uncountable)

  1. (idiomatic) Something unexceptional, not noteworthy or special.
    Synonym: nothing to write home about
    • 1898, Gertrude Atherton, chapter XIX, in The Valiant Runaways, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, →OCLC, page 210:
      You're welcome to stay here, but this hut ain't no great shakes for such as you.
    • 2008 August 24, “Your definitive guide to the iPhone”, in The Times[1], Johannesburg, South Africa, archived from the original on 15 September 2008:
      The iPhone's 2.0 megapixel camera is no great shakes, but it's good enough as cellphone cameras go.

References edit