tinker

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtɪŋkə/

noun

  • 1(especially in former times) a person who makes a living by travelling from place to place mending pans and other metal utensils.
  • British, chiefly derogatory a Gypsy or other person living in an itinerant community.
  • 2British informal a mischievous child: little tinkers, we were
  • 3an act of attempting to repair something.

verb

[no object]
  • attempt to repair or improve something in a casual or desultory way: he spent hours tinkering with the car

Phrases

not give a tinker's curse (or cuss or damn)

informal not care at all: I don’t give a tinker’s damn if you believe me or not!

Derivatives

tinkerer

noun

Origin:

Middle English (first recorded in Anglo-Latin as a surname): of unknown origin