tin-pot

[ tin-pot ]
/ ˈtɪnˈpɒt /

adjective

inferior; paltry; shoddy.

Origin of tin-pot

First recorded in 1765–75; from the believed inferior quality of a tin pot

Words nearby tin-pot

tin whistle, tin-opener, tin-pan, tin-panning, tin-plate, tin-pot, tin-white, tina, tinactin, tinamou, tinbergen

Example sentences from the Web for tinpot

  • "The tinpot style," said Mr. Britling at last in a voice of extreme bitterness.

    Mr. Britling Sees It Through |H. G. Wells

  • When they came at last, in their tinpot hats, they got out half a dozen big squirts and rushed into the building with them.

    A Book of Burlesques |H. L. Mencken

  • England will blow your trumpery little fleet out of the water and sweep your tinpot army into Siberia for this.

    Great Catherine |George Bernard Shaw

  • Nayland is a stuffed shirt of the first stuffing, and a tinpot Hitler to boot, but he is fanatically and incorruptibly patriotic.

    The Mercenaries |Henry Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for tinpot

tinpot
/ (ˈtɪnˌpɒt) /

adjective (prenominal) British informal

inferior, cheap, or worthless
paltry; unimportant