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Synonyms

no great shakes

Idioms  
  1. Nothing out of the ordinary, mediocre, as in I'm afraid the new pitcher is no great shakes, or What I did with this decorating project was no great shakes. This term possibly alludes to the shaking of dice, which most often yields a mediocre result, but there is no evidence to support this theory. [Early 1800s]


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

I know Napoli have been no great shakes in Europe but they still rarely lose at home and that was a statement win for Liam Rosenior, which should silence some of his doubters.

From BBC Jan. 29, 2026

Its overall handling of mental illness is no great shakes either.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 6, 2023

Inheriting a floundering Rainbow program, he turned it around to go 18-11 his last two years with a high-flying offense, though the Hawaii defense was no great shakes.

From Seattle Times Jan. 14, 2020

“Well, now that you know what I meant by it, it’s no great shakes, is it?”

From The New Yorker Oct. 1, 2019

Though ultimately no great shakes, the projects were proposed and illustrated with such enthusiasm that even the most hardened ten-year-old could be tricked into believing he was in for some serious fun.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

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