smɔːl pəˈteɪtoʊz
Food & Cooking
informal
intermediate
- Literally:
- Potatoes that are small in size
What does "small potatoes" mean?
- Something insignificant or unimportant
- A trivial matter or minor amount
Examples
- A thousand dollars is small potatoes to them.
- That's small potatoes compared to what they owe.
- Don't worry about small potatoes—focus on the big picture.
Origin
American expression from the 1800s. Small potatoes were less valuable and considered inferior quality.
How to use it
Informal and somewhat dismissive. Used to minimize importance of something.
Similar expressions
trivial
insignificant
peanuts
chicken feed
Opposites
big deal
significant
substantial
Related idioms
- piece of cake
Something very easy to do
- a piece of cake
Something very easy to do
- in a nutshell
In a very brief or concise form
- an apple a day keeps the doctor away
Eating fruit or having a healthy diet helps maintain good health
- bite off more than you can chew
To take on more responsibility or work than one can handle
- don't put all your eggs in one basket
Don't risk everything on a single opportunity
Use it in a practice answer
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