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tin-pot

American  
[tin-pot] / ˈtɪnˈpɒt /
Or tinpot

adjective

  1. inferior; paltry; shoddy.

    The tin-pot farce lasted only three performances before closing.

  2. of minor importance or significance.

    a tin-pot dictator, trying to look like a statesman.

Etymology

Origin of tin-pot

First recorded in 1835–45; tin ( def. ) (from the believed inferior quality of a tin pot) + pot 1 ( def. )

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.