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The person: a criminal, or anyone in a trade, who works at a small and level. It is "small-time" turned into a noun for the one doing it.
The person指人 a criminal, or anyone in a trade一個做壞事的人或任何行業裡的人 who works at a small and unimpressive level程度做得又小又不起眼 It is 'small-time' turned into a noun它是把「small-time」變成名詞 for the one doing it用來指那個做事的人
So where "small-time" needs a noun after it — a small-time thief — "small-timer" stands alone: "He was just a small-timer." That word "just" turns up so often beside it that the two feel glued together, and it tells you the whole attitude — this one does not matter, look past him. The contempt runs a little deeper than in the adjective, because now you are naming the man rather than describing his work.
So where 'small-time' needs a noun after it所以「small-time」後面需要接名詞 a small-time thief像a small-time thief（小咖小偷） 'small-timer' stands alone但「small-timer」可以自己站著用 'He was just a small-timer'「He was just a small-timer.」（他不過就是個小咖。） That word 'just' turns up so often beside it that the two feel glued together「just」這個字常常黏在它旁邊出現 and it tells you the whole attitude這就透露出整個態度 this one does not matter, look past him這個人不重要別理他了 The contempt runs a little deeper than in the adjective這個字帶的輕蔑感比形容詞的用法更深一點 because now you are naming the man rather than describing his work因為你現在是在直接稱呼這個人而不只是在描述他做的事
In crime films it is what the big boss calls the person he is about to stop bothering with. Outside crime it can describe anyone the speaker considers a minor player: a small-timer in local , a small-timer on the comedy circuit.
In crime films在犯罪電影裡 it is what the big boss calls the person這是大老大用來稱呼那個人的說法 he is about to stop bothering with他準備不再理會的那個人 Outside crime在犯罪以外的場合 it can describe anyone the speaker considers a minor player它可以用來形容說話者認為不重要的任何人 a small-timer in local politics像地方政治裡的a small-timer a small-timer on the comedy circuit或喜劇圈裡的a small-timer
It is informal, spoken more than written, and more common in American English. Its opposite is "big-timer", though that one is rarer.
It is informal, spoken more than written這是非正式用法用講的比用寫的多 and more common in American English在美式英文裡更常見 Its opposite is 'big-timer'它的反義詞是「big-timer」 though that one is rarer不過那個字比較少見
組成small time（低檔次）+ -er（做這件事的人）。-er 一路從古英語 -ere 傳下來，就是 teacher、driver 的那個 -er。
同家族的字
- small-timethe adjective this noun is built from
- old-timersame time + -er build: a person of an earlier era
- teachersame -er ending: the one who does the thing
原始詞典資料1 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
small-timernoun
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A person who is limited to small, petty or unimportant things.
- She hated Ed Feinberg, the sleazy, lying, blood-sucking small-timer. Still he was a man; if he had called her up in the old days, in Seattle, she'd have entertained him.
- The small-timers, as he put it, kept their currency in their homes, in safes, in false ceilings, under beds. When necessary, our tax people know where to look. The big-timers, however, use Swiss banks.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。