mustard seeds

Noun

mustard seed (countable and uncountable, plural mustard seeds)

1. A small, round seed of the mustard plant.

   Synonyms:

   eye of newt

2. (figuratively) A small amount.
   • Start with a mustard seed of irrelevant fact. Rutherford Hayes’s wife, Lucy, was the first American president’s wife to be referred to as the first lady.2013 February 7, Joy Williams, “The New Uncanny”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms:

   bit, crumb, ace, atom, thought, atomy, aught, bissel, continental, glimpse

3. (also, attributive) Small lead shot, usually of size No. 12, used for shooting birds and other animals at close range.
   • Being myself much given to the collection of birds for scientific purposes, a line of operation, requiring, in most cases, the finest shot that can be procured, I use mustard seed habitually, and have learned, incidentally as it were, its efficacy when directed against birds which, it might be...1873 November 22, Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. A., “Use of Small Shot”, in The American Sportsman, volume 3, number 8, West Meriden, Conn., page 117

   Synonyms:

   dust shot, rat shot, snake shot