second-rater
1
8.2
- noun
- /ˈsɛkəndˌreɪtər/
- Offensive
:
mediocre (informal, ofensivo)
- The murders and penny-ante bombings conducted by the second-raters and punks we've already caught.
Examples
-
"A second-rater, somebody who isn't good enough to succeed.
Fiction book (1994) -
Special price because I'm working with second-raters.
-
In his eyes, they were definitely second-raters, no question about it, and the fewer he encountered, the better.
Fiction book (1995) -
Yeah, I guess a second-rater like you would be no help with a hard case like Ganz.
-
Then you'll always be a second-rater.
-
Colonel Cody and I don't sign up any second-raters, only champions.
-
Assistants and second-raters covered for him, but it wasn't the same, as they lacked his talent, charm, and authority.
Fiction book (1995) -
She had to be good, because the boss didn't bother with second-raters and washouts.
Fiction book (2001) -
If we're just a bunch of second-raters (or look that way from the outside) whose only interest is "we got neat robots, isn't that cool, kids?" then suddenly we become something of a laughing stock.
Blog text (26) -
He is often criticized for being a second-rater in his profession, failing to meet the expectations of his peers.
Synonyms
4
6.4
A person with average skill who is not special
4
5.9
A person who has lower rank or status than others
A person or thing people see as below the normal level in ability and quality
A person or thing of low quality that people think is not good
Antonyms
How Skilled
Surface Forms
Morphology
second-rater = second-rate (transparent) = second + rate + er
Formed by adding '-er' to the adjective 'second-rate' to denote a person characterized by that quality, so the meaning is predictable.
Etymology
Second-rater comes from second-rate, made of second ('after the first') and rate ('quality' or 'rank'). So a second-rater is someone of lower or only average ability, like being 'second' instead of the best.