small potatoes

Save This Word!

See synonyms for small potatoes on Thesaurus.com

noun (used with a singular or plural verb)Informal.

a person or thing of little significance, importance, or value: His salary was small potatoes for an executive of his ability.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of small potatoes

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby small potatoes

smallish, small letter, small-minded, smallmouth bass, small pica, small potatoes, smallpox, small print, Smalls, small-saver certificate, small-scale

How to use small potatoes in a sentence

Endorsing a path to citizenship for DREAM Act recipients is fine, but small potatoes.
A New GOP? Not Yet|Michael Tomasky|February 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“Sports franchises are very, very small potatoes,” Leeds said.
L.A. Hopes to Ignite Economic Growth by Building Tenantless Football Stadium|Miranda Green|January 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This is pretty small potatoes compared to what Bush supported.
Michael Tomasky on Mitt Romney’s Doomed Immigration Gambit|Michael Tomasky|April 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And the successful strike against Osama bin Laden the next day made the whole episode seem, in retrospect, like small potatoes.
Donald Trump Not Running for President|Howard Kurtz|May 16, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Defrauding a $187 million estate seems like decidedly small potatoes in the age of Madoff and massive government bailouts.
The Astor Trial's Final Days|Ralph Gardner, Jr.|September 17, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Besides a few small potatoes, one dried goat ham was all our zealous friends could procure.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
Of course we won't bother with them tomorrow night, for that is small potatoes compared to the jewel plot.
The Ranger Boys and the Border Smugglers|Claude A. Labelle
For this purpose, small potatoes that are not suitable for other methods of preparation may be used.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 2|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
But I suppose they'd look like small potatoes to anybody who's seen Rome.
Rough-Hewn|Dorothy Canfield
Crahauns or Kirraghauns; very small potatoes not used by the family: given to pigs.
English As We Speak It in Ireland|P. W. Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for small potatoes

small potatoes

noun (functioning as singular or plural)

informal, mainly US and Canadian someone or something of little significance or value, esp a small amount of money

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

small potatoes

Origin of small potatoes

Words nearby small potatoes

Words related to small potatoes

How to use small potatoes in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for small potatoes