tinker's damn
2
9.9
- noun
- NSFW
- - I don't give a tinker's damn if you never come back.
- give a tinker's damn
Examples
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I don't give a tinker's damn what you think.
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And finally, I frankly don't give a tinker's damn how much my choices of response might piss somebody off.
Blog text (27) -
If I send an e-mail to a friend, it's private because no one gives a tinker's damn what I do or say.
Blog text (1) -
You don't give a tinker's damn!
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I just don't give a tinker's damn.
Blog text (4) -
They won't give a tinker's damn for a dog with a mental problem.
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But you soon find out that it doesn't make a tinker's damn who's got the upper hand.
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I don't give a tinker's damn about one mosque more or less.
Blog text (17) -
Now, I know you don't give a tinker's damn about that, but I've been working hard in this office for 15 years, and if Jack McGinnis wins, Buck Olmstead ain't the only one that's gonna lose out around here.
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He doesn't give a tinker's damn about the rules when it comes to having fun.
Synonyms
∞
9.9
Something worthless or untrue that people say to you
230
6.6
Something of little or no value, often in negative phrases
51
8.1
An amount that is nothing
26
4.6
A small unimportant thing not worth any attention
14
8.2
A very small amount of money that hardly matters next to bigger costs
11
8.4
Useless or unimportant things that distract from what matters
10
5.5
Something of little or no value
6
6.3
A very small amount of money, often meaning nothing at all
4
8.1
A very small, unimportant amount
4
7.9
A word people use to say something has very little value
2
9.9
A very small amount, almost nothing
2
9.9
A very small or worthless amount
1
9.9
A very small amount or nothing at all
1
9.9
A very small amount of money that has little value
1
4.0
A small thing that is not important
1
9.9
A small unimportant thing you do not need
1
9.9
A small unimportant thing not worth worrying about
1
9.9
Something of very little or no value
1
9.7
A thing that has little or no value
1
9.9
A very small amount of money that is worth almost nothing
1
5.1
A very small amount that is not enough
1
9.9
A very small amount of money or something of little value
A very small amount or nothing at all
A very small amount of money that has little value
A small cheap object with little real value
Something that has no value or use
Antonyms
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Morphology
tinker's + damn
The overall meaning 'of little or no value' cannot be reliably derived from the parts: 'tinker's' is an archaic possessive reference (often unknown to learners) and 'damn' as a derogatory word does not transparently combine to yield the idiomatic sense. This is a fixed, historical idiom whose sense is unpredictable from its constituents and therefore would be opaque to a B1 learner who merely knows the literal words.
Etymology
Tinker's damn may come from old travelling metal workers called tinkers who used a small temporary dam made of clay or dough to hold hot metal while they fixed pots. Because the little dam was thrown away after use, a 'tinker's damn' came to mean 'little or no value'.