small-fry
Kids, to adults
Small-fry refers to people or things of little importance or influence—the opposite of the big fish.
It often describes minor players in a larger operation: The investigation went after small-fry dealers, not the kingpins.
The term comes from fry meaning young fish, which are too small to be worth catching.
As an adjective, it means insignificant or minor-league: small-fry criminals, small-fry competitors.
Lacking significance or weight
- nobodyInconsequential person
- lightweightLacking mass or importance
- minorScale with lowered third
- inconsequentialLacking significance or impact
negligible · trivial · peon · nonentity · bit player · underling · minnow · footnote
Young human offspring
- youngstersPeople not yet adult
- little onesAffectionate term for children
- totsVery young children
- tykesSmall children, fondly
munchkins · rugrats · ankle-biters · wee ones · younglings · sprouts · squirts · pipsqueaks
unimportant
Lacking significance or weight
- nobodyInconsequential person
- lightweightLacking mass or importance
- minorScale with lowered third
inconsequential · negligible · trivial · peon · nonentity · bit player · underling · minnow · footnote · afterthought
kids
Young human offspring
- youngstersPeople not yet adult
- little onesAffectionate term for children
- totsVery young children
tykes · munchkins · rugrats · ankle-biters · wee ones · younglings · sprouts · squirts · pipsqueaks · kiddos
- small frypipsqueak, little guy, nobody, nonentity, cipher
- Nobodiesnobodies, nonentities, unknowns, zeroes, ciphers
small-frybig league
Highest professional level
major league · giants · behemoths · juggernauts · big business
small, fry, frying, smaller, smallest, smallness, smallish, smalls