What does "rinky-dink" mean?
A person who is contemptible or insignificant.; An amateur or someone who is underqualified.
Rinky-dink
/ˈɹɪŋ.kɪ.dɪŋk/ adj, noun, slang
adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who is contemptible or insignificant.; An amateur or someone who is underqualified.
- Grammar: rinky-dink is listed as adj, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: nonentity, unfashionable.
- Usage evidence: He graduated from some rinky-dink college in Oklahoma.
How to use "rinky-dink"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rinky-dink" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "rinky-dink" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "rinky-dink" is acting as adj, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who is contemptible or insignificant.; An amateur or someone who is underqualified. US, countable, informal, uncountable
"The point is that SCUBA diving is not for "rinky-dinks" ; it is for well trained people only, and then only in the company of other experienced divers."
- 2 A person who is contemptible or insignificant.; Someone who operates unethically; specifically, a small-time conman or crook. US, countable, informal, uncountable
"In addition to such creeps, there is also found in various organizations an assortment of longhairs, corny antiques, arky back-numbers, moldy mossbacks, rinky-dinks, tintypes, schmoes and schmaltzes of all flavors."
- 3 Something that is not up to acceptable standards; something of low quality. US, countable, informal
"But when we start getting really into the "rinky-dinks" of this thing is when we get over here in the columns."
- 4 A miscellaneous object or thing; a thingy. US, countable, informal
"[H]e, […] had just ordered a Sennett. […] He wanted no detachable top of pleb[e]ian characteristics; he wanted two regular bodies, one for winter and one for summer. And he wanted a special color and a monogram and a whole lot of rinky-dinks that cost him money."
- 5 Deceptive or underhanded rigmarole; deception, trickery; (countable) often preceded by the: an instance of this; a deception, swindle, a trick. US, archaic, informal, uncountable
"[H]e entered the realm of educational matters […] Two years of his life were spent at this elevating game, during which time he had only eighty-two fights with fond mothers who felt that he had been either neglectful of their particular children or had ruthlessly given them the rinky-dink."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Alternative form of rinky-tink (“a tinkling, tinny style of music; honky-tonk”). US, alt-of, alternative, informal, uncountable
"The [King] Oliver band had a new kind of beat, a real jazz beat instead of the ragtime rinky-dink."
Adjective
- 1 Of poor quality; amateurish, shoddy, small-time. US, informal
"That rinky-dink shelf is likely to collapse if you fill it with books."
- 2 Old-fashioned, tired; also, shabby, worn-out. US, informal
- 3 Crooked, dishonest, underhanded. US, informal
"When NBC licensed his reruns to the Arts & Entertainment cable network without consulting him, he was incensed. "It was a rinky-dink deal," says a source."
- 4 Alternative form of rinky-tink (“tinkling and tinny”). US, alt-of, alternative, informal
"As I child, I learned to play on that old pump organ and so had my father. This piano was very special. It had an extra floor pedal which gave the piano a rinky-dink sound like no other."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"He graduated from some rinky-dink college in Oklahoma."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rinky-dink"?
Common synonyms include: nonentity, unfashionable.
How do you use "rinky-dink" in a sentence?
He graduated from some rinky-dink college in Oklahoma.
How do you pronounce "rinky-dink"?
Pronounced /ˈɹɪŋ.kɪ.dɪŋk/.
Etymology
Origin unknown; possibly a variant of rickety (“of an object: not strong or sturdy; of a person: feeble in the joints, tottering”), reduplicated with a change of the initial consonant. The noun is attested earlier than the adjective.