small potatoes
One or more persons or things of relatively little consequence, importance, or value.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Don't worry about the cost, it is just small potatoes.”
“He thinks his old problems are small potatoes now.”
“Compared to the massive budget cuts we are facing, this small error is just small potatoes.”
“My current salary is small potatoes compared to what I could earn if I moved to the city for a management role.”
“While the local council debated the minor zoning changes, the residents felt these issues were small potatoes compared to the looming environmental crisis.”
first recorded 19th c.
The term emerged in North America during the mid-19th century as a refinement of a more general sense of potato, which was then used to denote an object of negligible worth. The idiom represents a specific commentary on the minimal utility of an undersized tuber.
The modern form of the phrase is first recorded in an 1855 quotation. It solidified the comparison between a lack of physical stature in a vegetable and a lack of significance in human affairs.
- 01
big fish in a small pond
One who has achieved a high rank or is highly esteemed, but only in a small, relatively unimportant, or little known location or organization.
- 02
couch potato
A person who spends a lot of time sitting or lying down, often watching television, eating snacks or drinking alcohol.
- 03
hot potato
An unwanted problem that is awkward or delicate.
- 04
in no small measure
To a very great extent.
- 05
in no small part
Synonym of in no small measure.
- 06
one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind
(used imitatively) A cliché used to exaggerate an accomplishment or milestone.
- 07
potato chaser
An Asian person with a strong inclination and attraction toward white people.
- 08
sing small
To assume a humble tone.
Last updated August 10, 2026