Explore the meanings, origins, and cultural significance of the phrases 'small beer' and 'small potatoes' as symbols of triviality in language.
The phrases “small beer” and “small potatoes” both denote something trivial or unimportant. “Small beer” refers to matters of little consequence, akin to the British term for beer with low alcohol content. Similarly, “small potatoes” conveys insignificance, drawing a parallel to a meager or poor crop.
The term “small beer” originates from the British tradition of brewing beer with low alcohol content, historically consumed for its safety over potentially contaminated water. Its metaphorical use dates back to the time of William Shakespeare, who employed it in several plays, including Henry IV, Part 2 and Othello. The phrase is more prevalent in British English.
Conversely, “small potatoes” is an American expression that emerged in the early nineteenth century. The phrase likens a poor crop to something of little worth or importance. Notably, David Crockett used it in Exploits and Adventures in Texas (1836): “This is what I call small potatoes and few of a hill.” The expression gained further literary traction with D. G. Paige’s vivid imagery in Dow’s Patent Sermons (circa 1849).
Both phrases share a semantic core of triviality and insignificance. “Small beer” carries connotations of something mundane or lacking substance, while “small potatoes” suggests minimal value or impact. The nuances between the two are primarily geographical, with “small beer” resonating more in British contexts and “small potatoes” in American discourse.
In contemporary culture, these expressions appear in literature, journalism, and everyday conversation to dismiss or belittle matters deemed unworthy of significant attention. Their usage underscores cultural attitudes toward triviality and the human tendency to prioritize more substantial concerns.
In professional settings, “small beer” might be used to downplay minor administrative tasks, whereas “small potatoes” could describe inconsequential financial figures. In literary contexts, both phrases serve to emphasize the triviality of certain plot elements or character concerns.
Both expressions retain relevance in modern language, though “small potatoes” may enjoy broader usage due to its vivid imagery and American roots. The durability of these phrases is rated as follows:
“He was indeed the glass / Wherein the noble youth did dress themselves; / He had no legs, that practis’d not his gait; / And speaking thick, which nature made his blemish, / Became the accents of the valiant; / For those that could speak low and tardily, / Would turn their own perfection to abuse, / To seem like him: so that in speech, in gait, / In diet, in affections of delight, / In military rules, humours of blood, / He was the mark and glass, copy and book, / That fashion’d others. And him—O wondrous him! / O miracle of men!—him did you leave / (Second to none, unseconded by you) / To look upon the hideous god of war / In disadvantage; to abide a field / Where nothing but the sound of Hotspur’s name / Did seem defensible: so you left him. / Never, O never, do his ghost the wrong, / To hold your honour more precise and nice / With others than with him: let them alone: / The marshal and the archbishop are strong: / Had my sweet Harry had but half their numbers, / To-day might I, hanging on Hotspur’s neck, / Have talk’d of Monmouth’s grave.” - William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2
“This is what I call small potatoes and few of a hill.” - David Crockett, Exploits and Adventures in Texas (1836)