small fry

American  

[smawl frahy] / ˈsmɔl ˌfraɪ /

noun

plural

small fry, small fry, small fries

1. a child: He's a small fry with a big personality.

   Here's a treat for the small fry.

   He's a small fry with a big personality.

2. an unimportant person or object.

   Her fancy parties were closed to the small fry.

3. a small or young fish.

---

small fry British  

plural noun

1. people or things regarded as unimportant

2. young children

3. young or small fishes

---

small fry Idioms  

1. Young children, as in This show is not suitable for small fry .

2. Persons of little importance or influence, as in She wasn't about to invite the Washington small fry to the reception . Both usages allude to fry in the sense of “young or small fish.” [Late 1800s]

---

Other Word Forms

• small-fry adjective

Etymology

Origin of small fry

First recorded in 1895–1900; fry ²

Example Sentences

Such small fry could easily flail or fail.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Several clients raised the question of whether this bet was being redefined to benefit “whales,” or big-money gamblers, at the expense of the small fry.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 5, 2026

Some passages one might almost call psychedelic if that word didn’t seem inappropriate to small fry.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2024

All season long, starting with an opening road loss to Anaheim and most recently last month in a 4-0 loss at San Jose, the Kraken have let the small fry push them around.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2023

“Queenie, from now on if you fry a pullet this small, fry two.”

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• baby
• boy
• daughter
• girl
• juvenile
• kid
• minor
• offspring
• son
• youngster
• youth