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tin god
[ tin god ]
noun
- a self-important, dictatorial person in a position of authority, such as an employer, military officer, critic, or teacher.
- a person who believes they are infallible and tries to impose judgments, beliefs, standards of behavior, etc., on subordinates.
tin god
noun
- a self-important dictatorial person
- a person erroneously regarded as holy or venerable
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Word History and Origins
Origin of tin god1
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Idioms and Phrases
A self-important, dictatorial, petty person who imposes ideas, beliefs, and standards on subordinates. For example, The officials in these small towns often act like tin gods . The tin in this expression alludes to the fact that tin is a base metal with relatively little value. [Late 1800s]Discover More
Example Sentences
A little tin god has a pleasant time of it, no doubt, until the coming of the eighteen carat gold idol.
A week or two more and the "little tin god" would go down off his wheels.
"Oh, your little tin god on wheels is not the only one," replied Helena, the astute.
The Boss pirate was shot by me—a big six foot Northern Chinee, got up, to kill, like a tin god.
His prime predilection was Lamont, of whom, their mutual acquaintances were wont to pronounce, he made a little tin god on wheels.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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