poor relation
- a person or thing considered inferior to another or othersplastic is a poor relation of real leather
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Related Words
deputy, servant, aide, assistant, underling, gofer, slave, helper, dependent, junior, serf, second, peon, flunky, attendant, scrub, subaltern, inferiorIdioms and Phrases with poor relation
poor relation
An inferior member of a group, as in Many regard Turkey as the poor relation in the European alliance. This expression, first recorded in 1720 for a family member in humble circumstances, began to be used figuratively in the mid-1900s.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.