Tinker

This article is about the term once applied to itinerant tinsmiths. For other uses, see Tinker (disambiguation).

A tinker was originally an itinerant tinsmith, who mended household utensils. The term "tinker" became used in British society to refer to marginalized persons. In this later sense, "tinker" may mean:

• Irish traveller, a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin
• Scottish traveller, a nomadic or itinerant people of Scottish origin
• Gypsy.

Tinker as a surname is a very old Anglo-Saxon name, with variations of Le Tinklere and Tinkler, appearing when surnames were adopted, many from occupations. Having no Irish or Romany connections, it is found mainly in Yorkshire and Norfolk. A Tinker was listed among the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 to the New World, but he died within a few months.

The Tinker name did not occur in Ireland until the late 17th century, after the English Civil War, when former members of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army settled there after service. The Gypsy connotation arose later from tinkers who travelled the British Isles to ply their trade. Tinkers were originally not Romanies nor Gypsies, although some Romany adopted the tinker's trade.

Tinker descendants are recorded as living in the parish of Letheringsett near Holt in North Norfolk. After moving to Kensington in London, others now live mainly in the South of the UK.^{[citation needed]}

The term "little tinker" is now widely used in the UK as a term of endearment for a cheeky young child. Some modern day nomads with an Irish, Scottish, or English influence call themselves "techno-tinkers" or "technogypsies" and are found to possess a revival of sorts of the romantic view of the tinker's lifestyle.

Tinker's dam

A tinker's dam is a plug to stop the flow of molten metal into a cast form. It may be a handful of dirt placed by shovel, hand, or foot to affect (stop or divert) the flow of liquid. The "insignificance" of the amount of real estate (dirt) used to create such a dam assigns little value to this dam. The proverbial use of "Tinker's dam" predates the biblical use of damnation, which is the perversion of an acceptable phrase and wrongly assigns crudeness to the profession of tinkers.

Tinker's damn

A tinker's damn or tinker's cuss, is a British expression of contempt for something considered insignificant. In common usage, the expression is used this way: "I don't give a tinker's damn what the Vicar thinks", or sometimes shortened to, "I don't give a tinker's about the Vicar." In this context, the speaker is expressing contempt for the local clergyman and his opinion. A tinker's curse was considered of little significance because tinkers were reputed to swear habitually.

Tinkering

To tinker with something is to build or rebuild via a process also known as bricolage.

See also

• Mercheros