Bush league is an adjective that means amateurish, unprofessional, or the lowest level of professional activity. First appearing in 1906, it comes from the American sport of baseball, describing small-town baseball teams—teams not good enough for the minor or major leagues, which have teams from large cities. Bush, here, means rural (belonging to the countryside).
The phrase is a common and mild insult. You can call someone bush-league in any profession and this means that they are small-time—unimportant and relatively unprofessional, amateurish.
More Examples of the Phrase “Bush-league” Used in a Sentence
- Dumping tens of thousands of documents the night before the hearing is an amateur and bush league move that should make Senators Todd Young and Joe Donnelly ashamed.
- Complaining about a player reaching his arm out, which is a legit football play, is the most bush league thing I’ve ever seen.
- Rather than rising above the criticism and accepting his honor with class and dignity, he’s going bush league, putting one more mark on a legacy that has already been tainted by too much foolishness.
- How could such smart, high paid people (Adobe and Goodby, Silverstein& Partners) make such bush league mistakes?
- Kelly Olynyk had his right arm entangled with Love’s left arm—a move Love called “bush league” and intentional—as both went for a loose ball.