Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an

itinerant An itinerant is a person who travels habitually. Itinerant may refer to: *"Travellers" or itinerant groups in Europe *Itinerant preacher, also known as itinerant minister *Travelling salespeople, see door-to-door, hawker, and peddler *Travelling sh ...

tinsmith A tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession may sometimes also be known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profession, though the same wo ...

who mends household utensils.

Description

''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling groups and

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

specialised in the trade, and the name was particularly associated with indigenous

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural group ...

and Scottish Highland Travellers – the name of whose language ''

Beurla Reagaird Beurla Reagaird (; previously also spelled ''Beurla Reagair'') is a nearly extinct, Scottish Gaelic-based cant used by the indigenous travelling community of the Highlands of Scotland, formerly often referred to by the disparaging name "tinker ...

'' means "speech of the metalworkers".Kirk, J. & Ó Baoill, D. ''Travellers and their Language'' (2002)

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

However, this use is considered offensive. The term "tinker", in British English, may refer to a mischievous child. Some modern-day nomads with an English, an Irish or a Scottish influence call themselves "techno-tinkers" or "

technogypsie Digital nomads are people who travel freely while working remotely using technology and the internet. Such people generally have minimal material possessions and work remotely in temporary housing, hotels, cafes, public libraries, co-working spac ...

s" in a revival of sorts of the romantic view of the tinker's lifestyle.

"Tinker's dam" or "damn" and "tinker's curse"

Both phrases tinker's damn and tinker's curse can be applied to something considered insignificant. An example: "I don't give a tinker's curse what the doctor thinks", sometimes shortened to, "I don't give a tinker's about the doctor." A tinker's dam is also reportedly a temporary patch to retain solder when repairing a hole in a metal vessel, such as a pot or a pan. It was used by tinkers and was usually made of mud or clay, or sometimes other materials at hand, such as wet paper or dough. The material was built up around the outside of the hole, so as to plug it. Molten

solder Solder (; NA: ) is a fusible metal alloy used to create a permanent bond between metal workpieces. Solder is melted in order to wet the parts of the joint, where it adheres to and connects the pieces after cooling. Metals or alloys suitable ...

was then poured on the inside of the hole. The solder cooled and solidified against the dam and bonded with the metal wall. The dam was then brushed away. The remaining solder was then

rasp A rasp is a coarse form of file used for coarsely shaping wood or other material. Typically a hand tool, it consists of a generally tapered rectangular, round, or half-round sectioned bar of case hardened steel with distinct, individually cut ...

ed and smoothed down by the tinker. In the ''Practical Dictionary of Mechanics'' of 1877, Edward Knight gives this definition: "Tinker's-dam: a wall of dough raised around a place which a plumber desires to flood with a coat of solder. The material can be but once used; being consequently thrown away as worthless". It is thought that the use of "tinker's dam" as something worthless, may have evolved into the

phrase In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very happy". Phrases can consi ...

"tinker's curse". Although ''tinker's curse'' is attested in 1824, which was thought to be earlier than ''tinker's dam'', "tinkers damn" is attested in 1823. An alternative derivation is that a tinker's curse or cuss was considered of little significance, possibly because tinkers (who worked with their hands near hot metal) were reputed to swear (curse) habitually. When working with copper, tin, gold, or other low-melting-point metals, the tinker would construct a charcoal furnace out of bricks and mud. At the bottom, he would leave a hole for the molten metal to pour out into a trough that led to a casting or a depression for an ingot. The hole was covered with a temporary 'dam' which would be broken when the liquid metal had puddled at the bottom of the furnace. The function of the blockage coined the word 'tinker's dam' as being something that only lasted temporarily, as it was to be destroyed or made useless in the very near future.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Scottish Travellers Irish Travellers Romani culture Metalworkers

Description

"Tinker's dam" or "damn" and "tinker's curse"

See also

References

External links