Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The smallest degree or amount.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a
worthless amount
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun something of little value
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Probably from the reputation of tinkers for cursing.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
A popular etymology is that tinkers used a small piece of dough or clay, a dam, to stop the flow of solder until it solidified. The dam was single-use, and was thrown away afterwards as useless.
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Examples
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skipvia commented on the word tinker's damn
According to this article on The Phrase Finder, the etymologically correct spelling of tinker's dam, having evolved from the phrase tinker's curse.
November 1, 2007
sionnach commented on the word tinker's damn
Is this the same as a haymaker's damn?
November 1, 2007
skipvia commented on the word tinker's damn
Once again you have me at a disadvantage, si. I've never heard this term and a quick Google search turned up nothing.
Or am I missing one of your elaborate jokes? :)
November 1, 2007
sionnach commented on the word tinker's damn
skipvia: I must apologize - this seems like a false recovered memory on my part. I wasn't deliberately trying to mislead: I think I might have had the word thrawneen in mind. There is an Irish expression - "I don't give a thrawneen about it", which would be the same as "I don't give a tinker's damn", where thrawneen means "a straw, a rush, something of little value".
But haymaker means something else entirely. And, sad to say, haymaker's damn appears to have been just a figment of my crossed brain-circuits.
November 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tinker's damn
Oh, but sionnach, it sounds great! Go on, try it on someone today. "You know, I really want to care about Fred's business report, but today I just don't give a haymaker's damn."
November 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word tinker's damn
I've always heard/said tinker's toot.
ps - Why does heard look so freakish in print?
October 20, 2008
bilby commented on the word tinker's damn
I like tinkers to cuss. The only time I've ever heard this expression it was a cuss, so that stayed with me. Cuss/curse is rarely used to describe foul language in Australia.
October 20, 2008
frindley commented on the word tinker's damn
Tinker's cuss in my neck of the woods too. That's if you hear it at all…
October 20, 2008