small-time
[smawl-tahym]
- of modest or insignificant size, importance, or influence: a small-time politician.
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Origin of small-time
First recorded in 1910–15
small time
- a circuit of minor theaters giving three or more shows daily.
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Origin of small time
An Americanism dating back to 1920–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
petty, bush-league, dinky, inconsequential, insignificant, low, piddling, secondary, trivial, two-bit, unimportant, inconsiderableExamples from the Web for small-time
Contemporary Examples
Last August, a small-time classic rock cover band performed at a bar called 69 Taps in Medina, outside Cleveland.
Did Christie Go Easy on a Sex Trafficker Just to Bust a Small-Time Pol?
The Best of the Beast, March 16-22March 23, 2014
It is simply the best portrait of small-time showbiz hustlers ever made.
Woody Allen’s Best & Worst Movies: ‘Annie Hall’ ‘Match Point’ & More (Video)Malcolm Jones
July 26, 2013
In that case, and not only due to our efforts, Dobbs lost his job on CNN and was moved over to small-time radio.
Ken Diamondstone introduced himself as a small-time developer from Brooklyn.
Historical Examples
It's no job at all to run a bluff on a small-time crook like that.
The Brand of SilenceHarrington Strong
The old school spirit was okay for football games, and even for small-time wars, but he had never felt much of it.
Way of a RebelWalter M. Miller
You may have a year of doing three or four shows a day on "small-time," as it is called, which is splendid experience for you.
The Art of Stage DancingNed Wayburn
small-time
- informal insignificant; minora small-time criminal
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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
Word Origin and History for small-time
adj.
1910, originally theater slang for lower-salaried circuits, or ones requiring more daily performances; from noun phrase (also 1910). Cf. big time.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with small-time
small time
A modest or minor level of achievement, as in Her success took her out of the small time to prime-time television. This expression was originally used in vaudeville for second-rate theaters and productions. [Early 1900s] Also see big time, def. 2.
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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.