Idiom
low on the totem pole
Meaning
Accorded relatively little importance.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“As an intern, I am low on the totem pole.”
“Because she is low on the totem pole, she rarely gets to make important decisions at the office.”
“Despite his years of dedicated service, he remained low on the totem pole, consistently overlooked for promotions in favor of newer, more connected colleagues.”
Examples
simple
“As an intern, I am low on the totem pole.”
contextual
“Because she is low on the totem pole, she rarely gets to make important decisions at the office.”
complex
“Despite his years of dedicated service, he remained low on the totem pole, consistently overlooked for promotions in favor of newer, more connected colleagues.”
Origin
Derived from totem poles, traditional sculptures of wood made by American Indians, usually with several figures carved one above the other. The vertical order was mistakenly perceived by the non-Indians to correspond with the figures' rank of importance.
Key words
Related idioms
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