tin-pot

or tin·pot

[ tin-pot ]

adjective

1. inferior; paltry; shoddy:

   The tin-pot farce lasted only three performances before closing.

2. of minor importance or significance:

   a tin-pot dictator, trying to look like a statesman.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tin-pot¹

First recorded in 1835–45; tin ( def ) (from the believed inferior quality of a tin pot) + pot ¹( def )

Example Sentences

The two demonstrated that women can be tough leaders in wartime and defeat tin-pot dictators.

From The Daily Beast

Sweet potatoes were already roasting in the ashes, and a tin pot of barley coffee was steaming on the coals.

From Project Gutenberg

We left him in the tent with a frying-pan containing two trout fried in butter, and a tin pot nearly full of soup.

From Project Gutenberg

Mary was preparing the dried meat, which she intended to boil along with the locust-beans in our tin-pot.

From Project Gutenberg

A brandy-flask comes from somewhere in the steerage, where a mop and a tin pot and a boathook live, and its effect is good.

From Project Gutenberg

Saying this, he took hold of an old tin pot, turned it bottom uppermost, and seated himself next to Wingy.

From Project Gutenberg