bush leagues
Pre-major baseball tiers
Bush leagues originally referred to minor professional baseball leagues, especially those in small rural towns.
The term now describes anything amateurish, second-rate, or unprofessional: That was a bush league move.
Bush league as an adjective carries the same meaning: bush league tactics, bush league operation.
The insult suggests someone or something belongs in the minors, not the big time.
- amateursNonprofessional participants
- novicesInexperienced newcomers
- inferiorsThose of lower rank
- small-timeOf little significance
- second-rateBelow acceptable standards
low-rent · two-bit · small potatoes · substandard · farm teams · farm system · rinky-dink · unrefined · makeshift · inexperienced · rookie mistake · unpolished · slapdash · entry-level · backwater · penny ante · rundown · underdeveloped
bush leaguesmajor leagues
Highest level professional baseball
big leagues · the bigs · top tier · the show · first division
bush leaguesbig leagues
Top professional level
major leagues · big league · major league · world-class · top-notch
bush, league, bushes, bushy, bushiness, leagues, leaguer, leaguers