tinhorn

[ tin-hawrn ]

/ ˈtɪnˌhɔrn /

Slang.

noun

someone, especially a gambler, who pretends to be important but actually has little money, influence, or skill.

adjective

cheap and insignificant; small-time: a tinhorn racket.

Nearby words

Origin of tinhorn

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; tin + horn

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tinhorn

Was Tinhorn bluffing or did he have another queen in the “hole”?
'Me-Smith'|Caroline Lockhart
The next turn showed up a queen for Tinhorn and a three-spot for Smith.
'Me-Smith'|Caroline Lockhart
That makes them mad and the tinhorn bunch keep stirring up trouble.
Corporal Cameron|Ralph Connor
You wasn't laid out with a crack on the nut, old Tinhorn; tell us how it happened.'
In the Track of the Trades|Lewis R. Freeman

Every tinhorn sport has his bundle, you know; but it's only your real gent that can flash a check book.
Shorty McCabe|Sewell Ford

British Dictionary definitions for tinhorn

tinhorn

/ (ˈtɪnˌhɔːn) US slang /

noun

a cheap pretentious person, esp a gambler with extravagant claims

adjective

cheap and showy

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 tinhorn

tinhorn

adj.

"petty but flashy," 1857, from tin + horn (n.); originally of low-class gamblers, from the tin cans they used for shaking dice.