popgun

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a toy gun that shoots a cork or similar object and makes a popping sound

   The child fired the wooden popgun across the garden.

2. 2
   adj

   figurative: weak, ineffective, or insignificant compared with what it opposes

   The fort's popgun defence could not deter the larger force.

A compound of pop + gun, named for the sharp sound made when its cork or plug is expelled. The figurative adjective compares something ineffective or underpowered with a child's toy weapon.

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