"low on the totem pole" meaning in English

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "high on the totem pole"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Derived from totem poles, traditional sculptures of wood made by American Indians, usually with several figures carved one above the other. The vertical order was mistakenly perceived by the non-Indians to correspond with the figures' rank of importance.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adjective",
        "head": "low on the totem pole"
      },
      "expansion": "low on the totem pole",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Romanian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1965, 7th of April, Washington Observer, King Defends Alabama Boycott, Answers Critics\nGaston said, however, that the boycott would not substantially affect Negroes because they are \"so low on the totem pole.\""
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Accorded relatively little importance."
      ],
      "id": "en-low_on_the_totem_pole-en-adj-sCr71M~P",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(often offensive, idiomatic) Accorded relatively little importance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "offensive",
        "often"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "not important",
          "word": "alhaalla toteemipaalussa"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "not important",
          "word": "cel mai puțin important"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "iméjuščij nízkij rang",
          "sense": "not important",
          "word": "име́ющий ни́зкий ранг"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "nizkorángovyj",
          "sense": "not important",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "низкора́нговый"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-low on the totem pole.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a8/En-au-low_on_the_totem_pole.ogg/En-au-low_on_the_totem_pole.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/En-au-low_on_the_totem_pole.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "low on the totem pole"
}

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "high on the totem pole"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Derived from totem poles, traditional sculptures of wood made by American Indians, usually with several figures carved one above the other. The vertical order was mistakenly perceived by the non-Indians to correspond with the figures' rank of importance.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adjective",
        "head": "low on the totem pole"
      },
      "expansion": "low on the totem pole",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English adjectives",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English offensive terms",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with Romanian translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1965, 7th of April, Washington Observer, King Defends Alabama Boycott, Answers Critics\nGaston said, however, that the boycott would not substantially affect Negroes because they are \"so low on the totem pole.\""
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Accorded relatively little importance."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(often offensive, idiomatic) Accorded relatively little importance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "offensive",
        "often"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-low on the totem pole.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a8/En-au-low_on_the_totem_pole.ogg/En-au-low_on_the_totem_pole.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/En-au-low_on_the_totem_pole.ogg"
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  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "not important",
      "word": "alhaalla toteemipaalussa"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "not important",
      "word": "cel mai puțin important"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "iméjuščij nízkij rang",
      "sense": "not important",
      "word": "име́ющий ни́зкий ранг"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "nizkorángovyj",
      "sense": "not important",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "низкора́нговый"
    }
  ],
  "word": "low on the totem pole"
}