[ adj ] contemptibly small in amount <adj.all> a measly tipthe company donated a miserable $100 for flood relief a paltry wage almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans
measly \mea"sly\ (m[=e]"zly), a. 1. Infected with measles.
2. (Zo["o]l.) Containing larval tapeworms; -- said of pork and beef.
3. Contemptibly small in quantity; meager; absurdly insufficient or bad; as, a measly few dollars for all that work. [PJC]
Not tempted by a measly 10 per cent or so?
NBC began the evening badly with a repeat of an Andy Williams special that got a measly 4.2 rating and 9 share and was the lowest-rated prime-time network show of the week.
All told, the Massachusetts governor stretched his delegate margin from a measly 36 to a more substantial 134.
By placing the weight of a paragraph on a measly couple of words, it is handy for making the banal seem portentous.
Olney has a measly few dozen squirrels, he figures.
Ticket sales over the weekend were a measly $1.3 million, and few theater owners expect the movie to last through the holidays.
There were no protest marches, no riots in the streets, not even a measly squeak from the leader of the Labour party when he questioned the prime minister about other matters.
"Give us these measly crumbs from the table," Rep. Craig Washington, D-Texas, said as the House debated the measure, which had been nine months in the making and softened repeatedly in efforts to woo Bush's support.