N. unimportance, insignificance, nothingness, immateriality, triviality, levity, frivolity, paltriness, poverty, smallness, vanity, matter of indifference, no object, nothing, nothing to signify, nothing worth speaking of, nothing particular, nothing to boast of, nothing to speak of, small matter, no great matter, trifling matter, mere joke, mere nothing, hardly anything, scarcely anything, nonentity, small beer, cipher, no great shakes, peu de chose, child's play, kinderspiel, toy, plaything, popgun, paper pellet, gimcrack, gewgaw, bauble, trinket, bagatelle, rickshaw, knickknack, whim-wham, trifle, "trifles light as air", yankee notions, trumpery, trash, rubbish, stuff, fatras, frippery, "leather or prunello", chaff, drug, froth bubble smoke, cobweb, weed, refuse, scum, joke, jest, snap of the fingers, fudge, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, pack of nonsense, mere farce, straw, pin, fig, button, rush, bulrush, feather, halfpenny, farthing, brass farthing, doit, peppercorn, jot, rap, pinch of snuff, old son, cent, mill, picayune, pistareen, red cent, minutiae, details, minor details, small fry, dust in the balance, feather in the scale, drop in the ocean, flea-bite, molehill, nine days' wonder, ridiculus mus, flash in the pan, much ado about nothing

V. be unimportant, not matter, go for nothing, matter nothing, signify nothing, matter little, matter little or nothing, not matter a straw, make light of, catch at straws

Adj. unimportant, of little account, of small account, of no account, of little importance, of no importance, immaterial, unessential, nonessential, indifferent, subordinate, mediocre, passable, fair, respectable, tolerable, commonplace, uneventful, mere, common, ordinary, inconsiderable, so-so, insignificant, inappreciable, trifling, trivial, slight, slender, light, flimsy, frothy, idle, puerile, airy, shallow, weak, powerless, frivolous, petty, niggling, piddling, peddling, fribble, inane, ridiculous, farcical, finical, finikin, fiddle-faddle, fingle- fangle, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, milk and water, poor, paltry, pitiful, contemptible, sorry, mean, meager, shabby, miserable, wretched, vile, scrubby, scrannel, weedy, niggardly, scurvy, putid, beggarly, worthless, twopennyhalfpenny, cheap, trashy, catchpenny, gimcrack, trumpery, one-horse, not worth the pains, not worth while, not worth mentioning, not worth speaking of, not worth a thought, not worth a curse, not worth a straw, 1 beneath notice, unworthy of notice, beneath regard, unworthy of regard, beneath consideration, unworthy of consideration, de lana caprina, vain

Adv. slightly, rather, somewhat, pretty well, tolerably, for aught one cares

Int. no matter, pish, tush, tut, pshaw, pugh, pooh, pooh-pooh, fudge, bosh, humbug, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, fiddlededee, never mind, n'importe, what signifies it, what boots it, what of it, what of that, what matter, what's the odds, a fig for' stuff and nonsense, stuff, nonsense, phr, magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, it matters not, it does not signify, it is of no consequence, it is of no importance, elephantus non capit murem, tempete dans un verre d'eau

N. inutility, uselessness, inefficacy, futility, ineptitude, inaptitude, unsubservience, inadequacy, inefficiency, &c. (incompetence) 158, unskillfulness, disservice, unfruitfulness &c.(unproductiveness), 169, labor in vain, labor lost, labor of sisyphus, lost trouble, lost labor, work of penelope, sleeveless errand, wild goose chase, mere farce, tautology, supererogation, vanitas vanitatum, vanity, inanity, worthlessness, nugacity, triviality, caput mortuum, waste paper, dead letter, blunt tool, litter, rubbish, junk, lumber, odds and ends, cast-off clothes, button top, shoddy, rags, orts, trash, refuse, sweepings, scourings, offscourings, waste, rubble, debris, detritus, stubble, leavings, broken meat, dregs, weeds, tares, rubbish heap, dust hole, rudera, deads, fruges consumere natus

V. be useless, go a begging, fail, seek after impossibilities, strive after impossibilities, use vain efforts, labor in vain, roll the stone of sisyphus, beat the air, lash the waves, battre l'eau avec un baton, donner un coup d'epee dans l'eau, fish in the air, milk the ram, drop a bucket into an empty well, sow the sand, bay the moon, preach to the winds, speak to the winds, whistle jigs to a milestone, kick against the pricks, se battre contre des moulins, lock the stable door when the steed is stolen, lock the barn door after the horse is stolen, hold a farthing candle to the sun, cast pearls before swine, carry coals to newcastle, wash a blackamoor white, render useless, dismantle, dismast, dismount, disqualify, disable, unrig, cripple, lame, spike guns, clip the wings, put out of gear

Adj. useless, inutile, inefficacious, futile, unavailing, bootless, inoperative, inadequate, inservient|, unsubservient, inept, inefficient, of no avail, ineffectual, incompetent, "stale, flat and unprofitable", superfluous, dispensable, thrown away, abortive, worthless, valueless, priceless, unsalable, not worth a straw dear at any price, vain, empty, inane, gainless, profitless, fruitless, unserviceable, unprofitable, ill-spent, unproductive, hors de combat, effete, past work, obsolete, fit for the dust hole, good for nothing, of no earthly use, not worth having, not worth powder and shot, leading to no end, uncalled for, unnecessary, unneeded

Adv. uselessly, to little purpose, to no purpose, to little or no purpose

Int. cui bono?, what's the good, phr, actum ne agas, chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin, tanto buon che val niente

N. nonpayment, default, defalcation, protest, # repudiation, application of the sponge|, whitewashing, insolvency, bankruptcy, failure, insufficiency, run upon a bank, overdrawn account, waste paper bonds, dishonored bills, protested bills, bogus check, bogus cheque, rubber check, bankrupt, insolvent, debtor, lame duck, man of straw, welsher, stag, defaulter, levanter|

V. not pay, fail, break, stop payment, become insolvent, become bankrupt, be gazetted, protest, dishonor, repudiate, nullify, refuse payment, pay under protest, button up one's pockets, draw the purse strings, apply the sponge, pay over the left shoulder, get whitewashed, swindle, run up bills, fly kites

Adj. not paying, non-paying, non-performing, in debt, behindhand, in arrear, behind in payments, in arrears, beggared, unable to make both ends meet, minus, worse than nothing, worthless, insolvent, bankrupt, in the gazette, gazetted, unpaid, gratis, unremunerated

N. {ant. to 812a} worthlessness, # valuelessness, lack of value, uselessness, cheapness, shoddiness, low quality, poor quality, trash, garbage

Adj. worthless, valueless, useless, cheap, shoddy, slapdash, inexpensive

Phr. not worth the paper it's printed on, not worth a sou

N. vice, evil-doing, evil courses, wrongdoing, wickedness, viciousness, iniquity, peccability, demerit, sin, adam|, old adam, offending adam, immorality, impropriety, indecorum, scandal, laxity, looseness of morals, enphagy, dophagy, exophagy, want of principle, want of ballast, obliquity, backsliding, infamy, demoralization, pravity, depravity, pollution, hardness of heart, brutality, corruption, knavery, profligacy, flagrancy, atrocity, cannibalism, lesbianism, sadism, infirmity, weakness, weakness of the flesh, frailty, imperfection, error, weak side, foible, failing, failure, crying sin, besetting sin, defect, deficiency, cloven foot, lowest dregs of vice, sink of iniquity, alsatian den, gusto picaresco, fault, crime, criminality, sinner, brothel, gambling house, joint*, opium den, shooting gallery, crack house

V. be vicious, sin, commit sin, do amiss, err, transgress, misdemean oneself, forget oneself, misconduct oneself, misdo, misbehave, fall, lapse, slip, trip, offend, trespass, deviate from the line of duty, deviate from the path of virtue, take a wrong course, go astray, hug a sin, hug a fault, sow one's wild oats, render vicious, demoralize, brutalize, corrupt

Adj. vicious, sinful, sinning, wicked, iniquitous, immoral, unrighteous, wrong, criminal, naughty, incorrect, unduteous, undutiful, unprincipled, lawless, disorderly, contra bonos mores, indecorous, unseemly, improper, dissolute, profligate, scampish, unworthy, worthless, desertless, disgraceful, recreant, reprehensible, blameworthy, uncommendable, discreditable, disreputable, sadistic, base, sinister, scurvy, foul, gross, vile, black, grave, facinorous|, felonious, nefarious, shameful, scandalous, infamous, villainous, of a deep dye, heinous, flagrant, flagitious, atrocious, incarnate, accursed, mephistophelian, satanic, diabolic, hellish, infernal, stygian, fiendlike, hell-born, demoniacal, devilish, fiendish, miscreated, misbegotten, demoralized, corrupt, depraved, evil-minded, evil-disposed, ill-conditioned, malevolent, heartless, graceless, shameless, virtueless, abandoned, lost to virtue, unconscionable, sunk in iniquity, lost in iniquity, steeped in iniquity, incorrigible, irreclaimable, obdurate, reprobate, past praying for, culpable, reprehensible, unjustifiable, indefensible, inexcusable, inexpiable, unpardonable, irremissible, weak, frail, lax, infirm, imperfect, indiscrete, demoralizing, degrading

Adv. wrong, sinfully, without excuse

Int. o tempora, o mores, phr, alitur vitium vivitque tegendo, genus est mortis male vivere, mala mens malus animus, nemo repente fuit turpissimus, "the trail of the serpent is over them all", "to sanction vice and hunt decorum down", [Note 1 - Most of these adjectives are applicable both to the act and to the agent.]