Tinker vs Tamper - What's the difference?
tinker | tamper |
an itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of tin
(dated, chiefly, British, and, Irish, offensive) A member of the travelling community. A gypsy.
A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster.
Someone who repairs, or attempts repair on anything mechanical (tinkers) or invents.
The act of repair or invention.
(military, obsolete) A small mortar on the end of a staff.
Any of various fish: the chub mackerel, the silverside, the skate, or a young mackerel about two years old.
A bird, the razor-billed auk.
(Webster 1913)
To fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-01
, author=Robert M. Pringle
, title=How to Be Manipulative
, volume=100, issue=1, page=31
, magazine=
To work as a tinker.
A person or thing that tamps.
A tool used to tamp something down, such as tobacco in a pipe.
To alter by making unauthorized changes; to meddle.
(in professional sports) To discuss future contracts against league rules with a player.
As nouns the difference between tinker and tamper
is that tinker is an itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of tin while tamper is a person or thing that tamps.As verbs the difference between tinker and tamper
is that tinker is to fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner while tamper is to alter by making unauthorized changes; to meddle.As a proper noun Tinker
is {{surname|northern English|from=occupations}} for someone who mends pots and pans.tinker
English
Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* (mischievous person) rapscallion, rascal, rogue, scamp, scoundrel * (member of the travelling community) travellerVerb
(en verb)citation, passage=As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.}}