A smidgen equals one-32nd of a teaspoon, and two smidgens equal one pinch. The word “smidgen” comes from an old Irish or Scottish Gaelic word meaning a very small piece. Other measurement words with exact equivalents include tick, jolt, and second beard.
Although the word “smidgen” is often used to describe anything very small, in formal usage, a smidgen equals one-32nd of a teaspoon. Similarly, two smidgens equal one pinch. The word “smidgen” is thought to come from an old Irish or Scottish Gaelic word, smidean, meaning a very small piece.
Learn more about measurements:
The amount in a pinch has actually changed over time. Although today it’s about equal to one sixteenth of a teaspoon, older cookbooks call a pinch about one-eighth of a teaspoon. In general, a pinch is just as much of an ingredient as the cook can pinch between his fingers.
There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what constitutes a droplet. One-drop measurements range from one-sixtieth of a teaspoon to one-hundred-twenty-fifth of a teaspoon. Measuring generously, it would take 60 drops to make a little, or an eighth of a teaspoon.
Other commonly used measurement words that actually have an exact equivalent include a tick, which is 0.01 second; and a jolt, which is 10 nanoseconds. There is also the second beard, used humorously, which is equal to 5 nanometers.
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