small fry

noun

plural small fry also small fries

1

US, informal : a child

—usually plural

Is there really any great difference, one might ask, between that gang of kids playing video games by the hour at their local candy store these days and those small fry who used to hang around together spending equal amounts of time playing marbles?

—Marie Winn

Mothers and fathers, their small fry hopping from ledge to ledge with them, are climbing mountains from the Appalachians to the Rockies.

—John Devaney

Ever since the giddy '60s … small-screen small fries have made their mark with clean-cut comedy perfect for fans of all ages.

—Damian J. Holbrook

2

informal : someone or something considered insignificant or minor

These two, with their perfunctory fast handshakes, made Henry feel like the small fry he was …

—Herman Wouk

—usually plural

Unfortunately, however, many of the cases on O'Keefe's list involved insignificant small fry who had cheated the government out of relatively small amounts of money and, in some cases, no money at all.

—David Burnham

3

: a recently hatched or juvenile fish

—usually plural

The basic strategy hasn't changed much since the first competition in 1903: Catch tiddlers, or small fry. This requires a hook the size of a mosquito's leg, a line as fine as a spider's web—and a rod as much as 36 feet long.

—Barry Newman

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for small fry

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

Kids Definition

small-fry

adjective

ˈsmȯl-ˌfrī

1

: minor entry 1 sense 1, unimportant

2

: of or relating to children : childish