tinhorn

[tin-hawrn]

noun

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

adjective

1. cheap and insignificant; small-time.

   a tinhorn racket.

tinhorn

/ ˈtɪnˌhɔːn /

noun

1. a cheap pretentious person, esp a gambler with extravagant claims

adjective

1. cheap and showy

Word History and Origins

Origin of tinhorn¹

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

Example Sentences

Mencken wrote this in 1926: “They come in as newspapermen . . . trained to get the news and eager to get it; they end as tinhorn statesmen, full of dark secrets and unable to write truth if they tried.”

From Salon

So is North Korea and so is every tinhorn dictator and second-class banana republic on the planet.

From Salon

He showed himself, with that one move, to have far more courage and resolve than most of the tinhorn dictators across the globe.

From Salon

He became a regular guest star on such disparate shows as “Gilligan’s Island,” playing an exiled tinhorn autocrat named Pancho Hernando Gonzalez Enriques Rodriguez, and “The Untouchables,” as an Al Capone mob associate named Jake “Greasy Thumb” Guzik.

From Washington Post

Among them were Cronies Sports Grill in Agoura Hills, which reached a settlement with the county in October; Bread & Barley in Covina, which also reached an agreement with the county; and Tinhorn Flats in Burbank, which is facing ongoing litigation after the restaurant was evicted last year.

From Los Angeles Times