Pappenstiel

Etymology
In a unfigurative sense the worthless bare stalk of a certain plant,
 * either the ubiquitous dandelion also named, 🇨🇬,
 * or, as in the 16th century where this idiom is also is from, has been used in this sense, 🇨🇬 whence, ,  if that is not instead from the bird-imitating ,
 * or instead points to  because the poplar-wood is a fast-growing, cheap wood too soft to manufacture instruments from it.

Noun

 * 1) a trifling amount