✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

tinker's damn

noun

variants or less commonly tinker's dam
: a minimum amount or degree (as of care)
… didn't give a tinker's damn about poetry …James Blish

Word History

Etymology

probably from the tinkers' reputation for blasphemy

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tinker's damn was in 1839

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tinker's damn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tinker%27s%20damn. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.

Last Updated: - Definition revised
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!