low-grade

[ loh-greyd ]

/ ˈloʊˈgreɪd /

of an inferior quality, worth, value, etc.: The mine yields low-grade silver ore.

Origin of low-grade

First recorded in 1875–80; low¹ + grade

The pale, baby-faced, red-cheeked rapper is furiously puffing away at a hastily-made blunt crammed with low-grade weed.

The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’ |Marlow Stern |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
She had low-grade blood poisoning in her ear from the pin she used to pierce it.

‘My Crazy Love’ Reveals the Craziest Lies People Tell for Love |Kevin Fallon |November 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The film cuts to a very early, low-grade video of Anna on camera introducing Femen.

Femen’s Abusive Patriarch, Victor Svyatski, Exposed in 'Ukraine Is Not a Brothel’ |Marlow Stern |March 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Low-grade insurgencies fester in other states, notably among the Karen minority.

Obama Does Delicate Dance on Historic Visit to Burma |Lennox Samuels |November 19, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

Each plank of low-grade wood is pretty ordinary: "You can break it with your fingers," the famously athletic general said.

The Reboot Begins |Randall Lane |October 23, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
The bitumens are represented in the island by asphalt, a low-grade coal, and seepages of petroleum.

Cuba, Old and New |Albert Gardner Robinson
These gentlemen are all familiar with what we should call the low-grade type of imbecile.

The Criminal Imbecile |Henry Herbert Goddard
If prices would advance, so as to make the low-grade ores profitable, the amount of our resources would be greatly increased.

Checking the Waste |Mary Huston Gregory
A very small percentage of low-grade flour is also made in this reduction.

Scientific American Supplement No. 275 |Various
Substitution of lower-grade coals—of bituminous for anthracite, and of low-grade bituminous for high-grade bituminous coals.

The Economic Aspect of Geology |C. K. Leith