no great shakes
idiom
informal
: not very good or skillful at something
He's no great shakes as a poker player.
Examples of no great shakes in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Its overall handling of mental illness is no great shakes either.
—
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2023
Riley was no great shakes as an NBA player.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2022
While her Forbes article was no great shakes, Heather Morgan clearly understood that circumstances had changed—and might favor criminals like her.
—Ben McKenzie, The New Republic, 10 Mar. 2022
It could be described as no great shakes.
—Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2021
The Geminids were no great shakes when they first were identified, said NASA’s Cooke, and at least for most of the 20th century were second bananas to the storied Perseids.
—al, 13 Dec. 2020
The Baltimore Ravens’ offense is no great shakes.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas News, 8 Dec. 2020
Oklahoma, also 1-2 in the Big 12, is no great shakes, but the Sooners temporarily stopped their own bleeding.
—Brian Davis, USA TODAY, 11 Oct. 2020
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2023
Riley was no great shakes as an NBA player.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2022
While her Forbes article was no great shakes, Heather Morgan clearly understood that circumstances had changed—and might favor criminals like her.
—Ben McKenzie, The New Republic, 10 Mar. 2022
It could be described as no great shakes.
—Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2021
The Geminids were no great shakes when they first were identified, said NASA’s Cooke, and at least for most of the 20th century were second bananas to the storied Perseids.
—al, 13 Dec. 2020
The Baltimore Ravens’ offense is no great shakes.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas News, 8 Dec. 2020
Oklahoma, also 1-2 in the Big 12, is no great shakes, but the Sooners temporarily stopped their own bleeding.
—Brian Davis, USA TODAY, 11 Oct. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'no great shakes.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near no great shakes
Cite this Entry
“No great shakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/no%20great%20shakes. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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