of a sort

of a sort

Having inferior, mediocre, or incomplete characteristics of something. He writes poetry of a sort, but it's nothing that will set the world ablaze. The office has a gym of a sort, but it's in such disrepair that no one really uses it.

See also: of, sort

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

of a ˈkind/ˈsort

(disapproving) (used after a noun) of poor quality; not what somebody/something should be: He is a poet of a kind. ♢ They gave us meat of a sort; we could hardly eat it.

See also: kind, of, sort

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

of

sorts/a sort

1. Of a mediocre or inferior kind: a constitutional government of a sort.

2. Of one kind or another: knew many folktales of sorts.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.