Small beer — Beer Beer, n. [OE. beor, ber, AS. be[ o]r; akin to Fries. biar, Icel. bj?rr, OHG. bior, D. & G. bier, and possibly E. brew. [root]93, See {Brew}.] 1. A fermented liquor made from any malted grain, but commonly from barley malt, with hops or some… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Small beer — Small Small (sm[add]l), a. [Compar. {Smaller}; superl. {Smallest}.] [OE. small, AS. sm[ae]l; akin to D. smal narrow, OS. & OHG. smal small, G. schmal narrow, Dan. & Sw. smal, Goth. smals small, Icel. smali smal cattle, sheep, or goats; cf. Gr.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
small beer — 1560s, originally weak beer; used figuratively of small things or trifling matters. SMALL (Cf. Small) with the meaning of low alcoholic content is attested from mid 15c … Etymology dictionary
small beer — If something is small beer, it s unimportant … The small dictionary of idiomes
small beer — small′ beer′ n. 1) vin weak beer 2) brit. Slang. trivial matters … From formal English to slang
small beer — n. 1. [Brit. Archaic] weak or inferior beer 2. Informal a person or thing of little importance … English World dictionary
small beer — noun uncount MAINLY BRITISH INFORMAL SMALL POTATOES … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
small beer — ► small beer chiefly Brit. something unimportant. Main Entry: ↑small … English terms dictionary
small beer — noun Date: 1568 1. weak or inferior beer 2. something of small importance ; trivia • small beer adjective … New Collegiate Dictionary
small beer — noun a) Beer with a low alcoholic content The income from gold plated widgets is small beer compared to the income from the standard ones. b) Something that is of relatively little importance. Syn: peanuts, small po … Wiktionary
