Have you seen the phrase 'tinker's dam' somewhere in a text or online and would like to know more about what it could mean? The saying 'tinker's dam' is actually an incorrect saying, with the right use being 'a tinker's damn'! This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this saying.
Meaning
The phrase 'a tinker's damn' is a less common saying in the English language.
'A tinker's damn' is a figurative phrase which means that someone didn't care about something, or that a minimal amount of care was shown.
The most common derivative of the phrase is that someone 'doesn't give a damn' about someone (or something). This derivative is actually just a common shortened version of the forgotten longer phrase 'a tinker's damn'.
When someone uses the phrase 'a tinker's damn' then the saying is used as an insult which implies that they were careless.
Context of the phrase is usually given or implied by the rest of the conversation's context.
Common incorrect use of the phrase 'tinker's damn' gives it as 'tinker's dam' or as 'tinkers dam', both of which are not correct use of the saying.
The phrase 'not a tinker's damn' does not render a negative form of the phrase, but is instead correct use of the phrase in the first place: this gives it no possible denial form to use.
Example Usage
“We paid three-hundred dollars for that thing, and you can see that the people who were responsible for building it didn't give a tinker's damn about how well it was going to hold together.”
“We thought that this was going to be a quality smartphone, but they didn't give a tinker's damn about how easy to use it was going to be for someone with fatter fingers. I'll have to change it out for another model.”
“You didn't give a tinker's damn when you put together the baby's crib. That's why it fell apart, and that's why you're going to take some lessons in repairs once we're done at the doctor's office.”
“Someone at the store didn't give a tinker's damn when they made the pizza: it's awful, and for someone reason it has pineapple on it. That's disgusting, and I'm going to have to yell at someone for this.”
Origin
The origin of the phrase 'a tinker's damn' is found in poetry, with the possible first use of the term found in a poem by James Blish in 1839.
The origin of 'tinkers' is found in York and Tudor-ruled England, where they were known as cobblers and metalworkers: this was also the origin of the phrase to 'tinker with something'.
Once the phrase 'a tinker's damn' was found in poetry, other authors would soon pick up on the use of the term and it would subsequently appear in other works - and spread out to popular speech.
Somewhere through the late 1800s to early 1900s, the phrase 'a tinker's damn' would be shortened to simply 'giving a damn' – though the meaning of both expressions are the same.
Phrases Similar to Tinker's Damn
- Give a damn
- Damn
Phrases Opposite to Tinker's Damn
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- Tinker's dams
Ways People May Say Tinker's Damn Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone can use the phrase 'tinker's damn' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the phrase.
Common incorrect use of the phrase includes to say 'tinkers damn', or to use the phrase as 'a tinker's dam'. Both do not render a usable phrase.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Tinker's Damn
There are several correct ways to use the phrase 'a tinker's damn', including to say that someone 'didn't give a tinker's damn' about something.
The phrase is used, sometimes with sarcastic or serious implications, to say that someone didn't apply care to something, or that they did something in a careless manner.