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small fry

[ smawl-frahy ]
/ ˈsmɔl ˌfraɪ /
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See synonyms for: small fry / small fries on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural small fry for 3; small fry or small fries for 1, 2.
a child: Here's a treat for the small fry.He's a small fry with a big personality.
an unimportant person or object: Her fancy parties were closed to the small fry.
a small or young fish.
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Origin of small fry

First recorded in 1895–1900; fry2

OTHER WORDS FROM small fry

small-fry, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use small fry in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for small fry

small fry

pl n
people or things regarded as unimportant
young children
young or small fishes
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with small fry

small fry

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]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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