Tinkerbell
noun, slang
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Anything whose existence or power depends on the faith of believers.
"I characterize it as the "Tinkerbell Approach" to policy development: It might work if all the children would just believe hard enough and clap their hands"
- 2 A homosexual or effeminate man. derogatory, offensive, slang
"When he confronted his boss he screamed at him about being gay and fired him saying he didn't want "Tinkerbells" working for him."
Example
More examples"I characterize it as the "Tinkerbell Approach" to policy development: It might work if all the children would just believe hard enough and clap their hands"
Etymology
After a fairy in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan (1902), in which the name is spelled Tinker Bell. She was described by Barrie as a fairy who mended pots and kettles, like an actual tinker, and her speech consists of the sounds of a tinkling bell.