nothingburger
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈnʌθɪŋbəːɡə/
ipa: /ˈnʌθɪŋˌbəɹɡəɹ/
Etymology: The noun is derived from nothing (pronoun, noun) + -burger (suffix forming names of hamburgers served in buns with the addition of specified foodstuffs, or with foodstuffs in place of the usual meat), a metaphorical reference to a burger missing a patty—its most significant component. The word was apparently coined by the American gossip columnist Louella Parsons (1881–1972) in her widely syndicated daily column “Louella’s Move-Go-’Round” of June 1, 1953: see the quotation.
The adjective is derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: Well, I think better a splendid fake than those little-bitty, itsy-poo nothing burger gold dinkies you wear only because they're real.
ref: 1970, Helen Gurley Brown, Sex and the New Single Girl, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: Bernard Geis Associates, →OCLC, page 186:
text: There are some good pictures here but the Brand-X reproduction and nothingburger design reduces the overall look to a clutter […]
ref: 1981, American Photographer, volume 27, Boston, Mass.: American Photographic Pub. Co., →ISSN, →OCLC:
text: For years you have touted anemic nothing[-]burger cars because they "cornered" and "handled." Now the Corvette comes along and blows them into the weeds, and you cannot bring yourselves to give credit where it is due.
ref: 1984, Bob Rich, “[Letter to the editor]”, in Car and Driver, volume 30, New York, N.Y.: Ziff Davis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 13, column 1:
text: I don't know anything about the offices of tycoons and moguls […] I just know about small busy squares or rectangles with computers, word processors, files and telephones, gray, beige or brown really nothingburger desks.
ref: 1993, Helen Gurley Brown, “Work”, in The Late Show: A Semiwild but Practical Survival Plan for Women over 50, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, →ISBN, pages 285–286:
text: You can help me figure out why a pro like you, who looks to've spent time in some serious places, is babysitting Charlie Pundo's nothingburger baby-raping turd of a son.
ref: 2013 May, Steve Ulfelder, Shotgun Lullaby, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, →ISBN, page 118:
synonyms: word: base
word: contemptible
word: foolish
word: for the birds
word: futile
word: frivolous
word: idle
word: ignorable
word: immaterial
word: inconsequential
word: inconsiderable
word: indifferent
word: insignificant
word: like a fart in a windstorm
word: meager
word: mean
word: minor
word: negligible
word: nothingburger
word: nondescript
word: paltry
word: petty
word: picayune
word: picayunish
word: piddling
word: piddly
word: pissant
word: pitiful
word: pointless
word: silly
word: simple
word: slight
word: tin-pot
word: trifling
word: trivial
word: two-bit
word: unimportant
word: unweighty
word: vain
word: worthless
word: wretched
antonyms: word: remarkable
word: significant
word: unimportant
word: ignorable
word: inconsequential
word: insignificant
word: minor
word: negligible
word: trivial
word: unremarkable
glosses: Of less importance than its treatment suggests; insignificant, unimportant; also, bland or unremarkable in appearance or impact.