tinker

tin·ker

T0226000 (tĭng′kər)n.1. A traveling mender of metal household utensils.2. Chiefly British A member of any of various traditionally itinerant groups of people living especially in Scotland and Ireland; a traveler.3. One who enjoys experimenting with and repairing machine parts.4. A clumsy repairer or worker; a meddler.v. tin·kered, tin·ker·ing, tin·kers v.intr.1. To work as a tinker.2. To make unskilled or experimental efforts at repair; fiddle: tinkered with the engine, hoping to discover the trouble; tinkering with the economy by trying various fiscal policies.v.tr.1. To mend as a tinker.2. To manipulate unskillfully or experimentally.

[Middle English tinkere.]

tin′ker·er n.

tinker

(ˈtɪŋkə) n1. (Crafts) (esp formerly) a travelling mender of pots and pans2. a clumsy worker3. the act of tinkering4. (Peoples) Scot and Irish another name for Gypsy5. informal Brit a mischievous child6. (Animals) any of several small mackerels that occur off the North American coast of the Atlanticvb7. (foll by: with) to play, fiddle, or meddle (with machinery, etc), esp while undertaking repairs8. (Crafts) to mend (pots and pans) as a tinker[C13 tinkere, perhaps from tink tinkle, of imitative origin] ˈtinkerer n

tin•ker

(ˈtɪŋ kər)

n. 1. a mender of pots and pans, usu. an itinerant. 2. an unskillful or clumsy worker; bungler. 3. a jack-of-all-trades. 4. an act or instance of tinkering. 5. traveler (def. 7). 6. a young mackerel. v.i. 7. to busy oneself with a thing without useful results. 8. to work unskillfully or clumsily at anything. 9. to do the work of a tinker. v.t. 10. to mend as a tinker. 11. to repair in a clumsy or makeshift way. [1225–75; Middle English tinkere] tin′ker•er, n.

tinker

Past participle: tinkered
Gerund: tinkering

Imperative
tinker
tinker

Present
I tinker
you tinker
he/she/it tinkers
we tinker
you tinker
they tinker

Preterite
I tinkered
you tinkered
he/she/it tinkered
we tinkered
you tinkered
they tinkered

Present Continuous
I am tinkering
you are tinkering
he/she/it is tinkering
we are tinkering
you are tinkering
they are tinkering

Present Perfect
I have tinkered
you have tinkered
he/she/it has tinkered
we have tinkered
you have tinkered
they have tinkered

Past Continuous
I was tinkering
you were tinkering
he/she/it was tinkering
we were tinkering
you were tinkering
they were tinkering

Past Perfect
I had tinkered
you had tinkered
he/she/it had tinkered
we had tinkered
you had tinkered
they had tinkered

Future
I will tinker
you will tinker
he/she/it will tinker
we will tinker
you will tinker
they will tinker

Future Perfect
I will have tinkered
you will have tinkered
he/she/it will have tinkered
we will have tinkered
you will have tinkered
they will have tinkered

Future Continuous
I will be tinkering
you will be tinkering
he/she/it will be tinkering
we will be tinkering
you will be tinkering
they will be tinkering

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been tinkering
you have been tinkering
he/she/it has been tinkering
we have been tinkering
you have been tinkering
they have been tinkering

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been tinkering
you will have been tinkering
he/she/it will have been tinkering
we will have been tinkering
you will have been tinkering
they will have been tinkering

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been tinkering
you had been tinkering
he/she/it had been tinkering
we had been tinkering
you had been tinkering
they had been tinkering

Conditional
I would tinker
you would tinker
he/she/it would tinker
we would tinker
you would tinker
they would tinker

Past Conditional
I would have tinkered
you would have tinkered
he/she/it would have tinkered
we would have tinkered
you would have tinkered
they would have tinkered

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	tinker - a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their partstinkererexperimenter - a person who enjoys testing innovative ideas; "she was an experimenter in new forms of poetry"
	2.	tinker - formerly a person (traditionally a Gypsy) who traveled from place to place mending pots and kettles and other metal utensils as a way to earn a livinggipsy, gypsy, itinerant - a laborer who moves from place to place as demanded by employment; "itinerant traders"
	3.	tinker - small mackerel found nearly worldwidechub mackerel, Scomber japonicusmackerel - any of various fishes of the family Scombridaegenus Scomber, Scomber - type genus of the Scombridae
Verb	1.	tinker - do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly; "The old lady is usually mucking about in her little house"monkey around, muck about, muck around, potter, mess around, monkey, putterpuddle - mess around, as in a liquid or paste; "The children are having fun puddling in paint"work - exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor"
	2.	tinker - work as a tinker or tinkererdo work, work - be employed; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college"
	3.	tinker - try to fix or mend; "Can you tinker with the T.V. set--it's not working right"; "She always fiddles with her van on the weekend"fiddlefix, furbish up, mend, repair, bushel, doctor, touch on, restore - restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes please"

tinker

verb meddle, play, toy, monkey, potter, fiddle (informal), dabble, mess about, muck about (Brit. slang) Instead of admitting their error, they just tinkered with the problem.

tinker

verb1. To handle something idly, ignorantly, or destructively:fiddle, fool, meddle, mess, tamper.Informal: monkey.2. To move one's fingers or hands in a nervous or aimless fashion:fiddle, fidget, fool, monkey, play, putter, toy, trifle, twiddle.

Translations

白铁工粗糙地补修

tinker

(ˈtiŋkə) noun a person who travels around like a gypsy, mending kettles, pans etc. 白铁工 verb (often with about or around) to fiddle, or work in an unskilled way, with machinery etc. He enjoys tinkering around (with car engines).粗糙地补修

tinker

Tinker to Evers to Chance

A legendary baseball double-play. The phrase is used as the refrain in the poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" by Franklin Piece Adams. It refers to three Chicago Cubs players from the early 20th century: Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. I wish I had been born in an earlier era, so that I could have seen Tinker to Evers to Chance—not to mention Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and all the famous players of yore.See also: chance, Ever, tinker

not give a tinker's damn about (someone or something)

rude slang To not care about, or have any interest in, someone or something. Fred does not give a tinker's damn about what anyone else thinks of him.See also: damn, give, not

not give a tinker's cuss

rude slang To not care about, or have any interest in, someone or something. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. Fred does not give a tinker's cuss about what anyone else thinks of him.See also: cuss, give, not

not worth a tinker's damn

Completely worthless or useless; having little or no value. I was so excited when my grandfather said he'd give me his car, but this old clunker isn't worth a tinker's damn. Over the years working here, I've come to realize that the boss's word isn't worth a tinker's damn.See also: damn, not, worth

not worth a damn

Having no value or integrity; worthless. The company offered vouchers to its employees, but they aren't worth a damn. You've broken your word so many times that your promises aren't worth a damn. My brother gave me his old laptop, but it's not worth a damn anymore.See also: damn, not, worth

not give a tinker's curse

slang To not care about, or have any interest in, someone or something. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. Fred does not give a tinker's curse about what anyone else thinks of him.See also: curse, give, not

tinker around with (something)

1. To make unprofessional or experimental attempts at repairing or improving something. I've been tinkering around with the washing machine all afternoon, but nothing I do seems to fix it. Bud likes to tinker around with old car engines and see if he can make them run better than they used to.2. To test or use something in order to learn more about it. I'm tinkering around with a different platform for my blog, and I can't decide if I like it or not.See also: around, tinker

tinker with (something)

1. To make unprofessional or experimental attempts at repairing or improving something. I've been tinkering with the washing machine all afternoon, but nothing I do seems to fix it. Bud likes to tinker with old car engines and see if he can make them run better than they used to.2. To test or use something in order to learn more about it. I'm tinkering with a different platform for my blog, and I can't decide if I like it or not.See also: tinker

not worth a tinker's curse

Completely worthless or useless; having little or no value. I was so excited when my grandfather said he'd give me his car, but this old clunker isn't worth a tinker's curse. Over the years working here, I've come to realize that the boss's word isn't worth a tinker's curse.See also: curse, not, worth

a tinker's curse

rude slang That which has little or no value. Fred doesn't give a tinker's curse about what anyone else thinks of him. I was so excited when my grandfather said he'd give me his car, but this old clunker isn't worth a tinker's curse.See also: curse

a tinker's damn

rude slang That which has little or no value. Fred doesn't give a tinker's damn about what anyone else thinks of him. I was so excited when my grandfather said he'd give me his car, but this old clunker isn't worth a tinker's damn.See also: damn

if ifs and ands were pots and pans

A phrase that advises against wishing for impossible or absurd things to happen. The full phrase is, "If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands." A: "If only my parents would give me a car, life would be so much easier." B: "Yeah, well, if ifs and ands were pots and pans, right?"See also: and, if, pan, pot

If ifs and ands were pots and pans (there'd be no work for tinkers' hands).

Prov. Wishing for things is useless. (Often said in reply to someone who says something beginning with "If only....") Daughter: If only we didn't have to move out of town, I'd be the happiest girl in the world. Grandmother: If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands.See also: and, if, pan, pot

not give a tinker's damn

Fig. not to care at all. (A tinker's damn or dam may be a worthless curse from a tinker or a small dam or barrier used to contain molten metal.) I don't give a tinker's damn whether you go or not!See also: damn, give, not

not worth a damn

Inf. worthless. This pen is not worth a damn. When it comes to keeping score, she's not worth a damn.See also: damn, not, worth

tinker (around) (with something)

to meddle with something; to play with something, trying to get it to work or work better. Let me tinker around with it for a while and see if I can get it to work. Please don't tinker with the controls.

not worth a damn

Also, not worth a plugged nickel or red cent or bean or hill of beans or fig or straw or tinker's damn . Worthless, as in That car isn't worth a damn, or My new tennis racket is not worth a plugged nickel. As for the nouns here, a damn or curse is clearly of no great value (also see not give a damn); a plugged nickel in the 1800s referred to a debased five-cent coin; a cent denotes the smallest American coin, which was red when made of pure copper (1800s); a bean has been considered trivial or worthless since the late 1300s (Chaucer so used it), whereas hill of beans alludes to a planting method whereby four or five beans are put in a mound (and still are worthless); and both fig and straw have been items of no worth since about 1400. A tinker's dam, first recorded in 1877, was a wall of dough raised around a spot where a metal pipe is being repaired so as to hold solder in place until it hardens, whereupon the dam is discarded. However, tinker's damn was first recorded in 1839 and probably was merely an intensification of "not worth a damn," rather than having anything to do with the dam. See also: damn, not, worth

tinker with

Try to repair, work aimlessly or unskillfully with, as in He tinkered with the engine all day but it still wouldn't start. This idiom, first recorded in 1658, alludes to working as a tinker, that is, mending metal utensils. See also: tinker

not give a tinker's damn

not give a tinker's cuss

INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONEDIf you say that you don't give a tinker's damn or don't give a tinker's cuss about something or someone, you mean that you do not care about them at all. Most of these people couldn't give a tinker's damn about the students. For 50 weeks of the year, the great British public couldn't give a tinker's cuss about tennis. Note: You can also say that someone or something is not worth a tinker's damn when you think they are of no value. The real truth is you haven't been worth a tinker's damn all week.See also: damn, give, not

not worth a damn

having no value or validity at all. informalSee also: damn, not, worth

not give (or care) a tinker's curse (or cuss or damn)

not care at all. informal In former times, tinkers (itinerant menders of pots, pans, and other metal utensils) had a reputation for using bad language. The expression is often shortened to not give a tinker's . 1984 Patrick O'Brian The Far Side of the World When I was a squeaker nobody gave a tinker's curse whether my daily workings were right or wrong. See also: curse, give, not

tinker around

v. To make unskilled or experimental efforts at repair or improvement: I tinkered around with the toaster to see if I could fix it. On the weekends, they like to tinker around in the garage.See also: around, tinker

tinker with

v. To make unskilled or experimental efforts at repairing or improving something: I tinkered with the engine, hoping to discover the trouble.See also: tinker

not worth a damn

mod. worthless. When it comes to keeping score, she’s not worth a damn. See also: damn, not, worth

not worth a (tinker's) damn

Worthless. The catalog of similes signifying “without worth” is seemingly endless. This one, beginning life as “a tinker’s curse,” then became a tinker’s dam, a wall of dough raised around a place where a plumber is trying to repair a hole with solder. The dough holds the solder until it hardens and then is discarded. Misspelling turned it into damn and today “tinker” is usually omitted. (However, “damn” alone was also used in the eighteenth century.) Among the hundreds of similes denoting worthlessness that are still heard today are not worth a bean (see hill of beans); not worth a fig (also see under fig); not worth a button (thirteenth century); not worth a (brass) farthing (seventeenth century); not worth the paper it’s written on (usually applied to an IOU or bad check); not worth a pin (fifteenth century); not worth a plugged nickel (plug meant a debased coin; nineteenth century); not worth the powder to blow it up (nineteenth century); not worth a rap (a counterfeit half-penny circulating in Ireland in the early eighteenth century); not worth a red cent (the cent being the smallest American coin, red because it used to be made of pure copper; nineteenth century); not worth a straw (fourteenth century). See also worth one's salt.See also: damn, not, worth

tinker's damn

Something of no value. Itinerant tinsmiths known as tinkers were roughand- ready men who saw no reason to watch their language. They swore so frequently that their curse words had no value for emphasis or anything else, and so something that was said to be worth a tinker's damn had no merit or value at all.See also: damn

tinker

tin·ker

tinker

tin•ker

tinker

tinker

tinker

tinker

tinker

Tinker to Evers to Chance

not give a tinker's damn about (someone or something)

not give a tinker's cuss

not worth a tinker's damn

not worth a damn

not give a tinker's curse

tinker around with (something)

tinker with (something)

not worth a tinker's curse

a tinker's curse

a tinker's damn

if ifs and ands were pots and pans

If ifs and ands were pots and pans (there'd be no work for tinkers' hands).

not give a tinker's damn

not worth a damn

tinker (around) (with something)

not worth a damn

tinker with

not give a tinker's damn

not give a tinker's cuss

not worth a damn

not give (or care) a tinker's curse (or cuss or damn)

tinker around

tinker with

not worth a damn

not worth a (tinker's) damn

tinker's damn

tinker

tinker

tinker

Synonyms for tinker

verb meddle

Synonyms

Synonyms for tinker

verb to handle something idly, ignorantly, or destructively

Synonyms

verb to move one's fingers or hands in a nervous or aimless fashion

Synonyms

Synonyms for tinker

noun a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts

Synonyms

Related Words

noun formerly a person (traditionally a Gypsy) who traveled from place to place mending pots and kettles and other metal utensils as a way to earn a living

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noun small mackerel found nearly worldwide

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verb do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly

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verb work as a tinker or tinkerer

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verb try to fix or mend

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