smidge

«smidge» in Mova's school dictionary: A very small amount of something: «a smidge of butter» — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a smidge); adverb-like (a smidge + adjective)

meaning for a pupil

1) (informal) A very small amount of something: «a smidge of butter». tree →

2) (informal) A little bit, slightly: «a smidge too long». tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday talk and lessons on downplaying (understatement), «a smidge» makes something sound tiny. People sometimes say «a smidge» about something that is not really small, as a joke or to sound modest. Related: «smidgen», «tad», «touch», «pinch», «a bit».

examples

• Can I have just a smidge of ketchup? tree →
• The skirt is a smidge too long. tree →
• Add a smidge of salt to the soup. tree →
• I'm a smidge tired after the walk. tree →
• «Just a smidge of cake,» said Dad, taking a huge slice. tree →
• Move the picture a smidge to the left. tree →

note

Informal; mostly in «a smidge (of)». Short for «smidgen». It has no exact size — in a maths problem «a smidge» is not a number. Often used to downplay: «a smidge late» may mean quite late.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «smidge» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.