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- Dictionarysmall beer/smɔːl ˈbɪə/
noun
- 1. a thing that is considered unimportant: British "even with £10,000 to invest, you are still small beer for most stockbrokers"
- 2. weak beer: archaic "flat beer is just as bad as small beer"
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Small beer (also known as small ale or table beer) is a lager or ale that contains a lower amount of alcohol by volume than most others, usually between 0.5% and 2.8%.
SMALL BEER definition: 1. something that does not seem important when compared to something else: 2. something that does…. Learn more.
1. : weak or inferior beer. 2. : something of small importance : trivia. small-beer. ˈsmȯl-ˈbir. adjective. Did you know? Small beer dates from Shakespeare's day. The Bard didn't coin it (the word has been in use since the 15th century, well before Shakespeare was born), but he did put the term to good use.
Instead, a mildly alcoholic drink known as 'small beer' was brewed and consumed for its hydrating and nutritional properties in households, workplaces and even schools across Britain. Typically brewed to around 2.8% ABV, small beer became a staple of British daily life and was even cited in Shakespeare's works.
Definition of 'small beer' Word Frequency. small beer. uncountable noun. If you say that something is small beer, you mean that it is unimportant in comparison with something else. [British] Such roles are small beer compared with the fame she once enjoyed. Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers.
Small beer definition: weak beer.. See examples of SMALL BEER used in a sentence.
Of little importance, as in Don't listen to Henry; he's small beer, or It's silly to worry about that bill; it's small potatoes. The first term alludes to a beer of low alcoholic content (also called light beer today) and was used metaphorically by Shakespeare in several plays.
a person or thing that has no great importance or value, especially when compared with somebody/something else. Compared to all that had happened to him recently, this latest crisis seemed fairly small beer. Want to learn more?
/ˌsmɔl ˈbɪər/ /smɔl bɪə/ IPA guide. Other forms: small beers. Definitions of small beer. noun. something of small importance. synonyms: trifle, trivia, triviality. see more. Cite this entry. Style: MLA. "Small beer." Vocabulary.com Dictionary, Vocabulary.com, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/small beer. Accessed 06 Jun. 2024. Copy citation.
small beer (countable and uncountable, plural small beers) (countable, uncountable) Beer with a low alcoholic content, usually between 0.5% and 2.8%.
