🥤 Disposable 🗑️ A disposable item 💬 A casual remark 🧒 An abandoned child 📄 A paper ad

throwaway

1 7.0

A short casual comment that people do not take seriously

noun
/ˈθroʊəˌweɪ/

Informal

: comentario de pasada

So this is just a throwaway comment that we'll deal with again.

Examples

So they were more or less throwaway lines for him.
And Neil Howe said something in interviews, the throwaway line, and he said there is a supply and demand for social order.
That is such a throwaway line, but I love it so much that you bring Shakespeare into it.
There was an odd throwaway line at the end of the scene, where Wells comments that one of the floors of the building seems to be missing.

Blog text (20)
Lea Goldman, Marie Claire's features director, said in a statement that while she agrees Clinton was not talking specifically about Slaughter, the "whining" quote was not just some throwaway about Holden Caulfield.

Blog text (10)
His comment about the movie was just a throwaway meant to lighten the mood.
I didn't think much of her throwaway remark during the meeting; it seemed to have no real significance.
During the interview, he made a throwaway comment that left everyone confused.

How Serious

serious

∞ 2.0

considered

3.3

throwaway

Informal

1 7.0

passing comment

1 3.3

Surface Forms

throwaway singular

throwaways plural

Morphology

throwaway = throw + away (semi-transparent) = throw + away

The sense 'a casual, unimportant remark' is a metaphorical extension from the idea of something being 'thrown away' as unimportant, so the relation is only partially inferable.

Etymology

Throwaway for a casual remark comes from throw + away, like 'throwing' a line out without keeping it, so a throwaway comment is said quickly and not meant to be taken seriously.