petit maître

plural petits maîtres

1. archaicA fop or dandy.First known use 18th c.

   The unfortunate petit maitre, driven to the extremity of his condescension, acknowledged it to be a masterly refinement […].

   1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC

   Synonyms: macaroni, popinjay, barbermonger, beau, blade, blood, buck, carpet knight

2. derogatoryA lesser master of something, especially of some artistic skill; a minor talent.First known use 19th c.

   The point of this survey is to present Calder as a giant of modernism instead of a petit-maître of whimsical toys.

   2015 November 15, Laura Cumming, The Guardian

   1 more example

   Monstrous critical overkill of an even more up-market kind has transformed the Argentinian petit maître, Borges, into one of the Great Writers of our Time and his most recent collection, The Book of Sand […] shows signs that he is content humbly to acquiesce in this opinion.

   1979, Angela Carter, “Latin Rhythms”, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage, published 2013, page 563