Modest means

Today you heard that some stores don’t accept cash. That can be a problem to people who don’t have access to credit or debit cards, such as people of “modest means.” A person of modest means is a person who doesn’t have very much money or resources. It is a more polite way of saying a person who is “poor” or “low-income.” The word “modest” can also be used as a polite way of saying “few” or “little.” Before becoming president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro was a legislator with a modest set of accomplishments. That means he was not a star legislator before he ran for president; he had not led the passage of many laws. I am a person of modest stature—that’s a polite way of saying I’m kind of short .