Alternatives to the expression "poor man's <noun>"

I'm looking for a more politically correct substitute for the expression "poor man's", meaning an inferior improvised or makeshift substitute. Usage examples:

• "Guncotton is the poor man's TNT"
• "Poor man's oyster" (mussels, or coughed up phlegm)

My hesitance is mainly because it is not as gender neutral as perhaps it once was. The closest I can think of is "pauper's", but I don't know many examples of usage.

Solution 1:

Gender neutrality is fine, I even like it. But sometimes it is carried so far, it's burdensome.

I am a member of mankind. That doesn't bother me on a gender level. It is no more charged for me than humankind. I may well not represent the majority here.

If you're going to talk about a poor man's oyster, I'd much rather you kept the word man in there.

If you use the pauper's (x), I'm certain it will be understood, even though it's not used right now.

But "Poor man's" is fine with me.

If Seth MacFarlane is the poor man's version of any celebrity... -Jezebel
Sorbet is the poor man's ice cream. -Jezebel
Lady Gaga is the poor man's Madonna. -Jezebel

(What does any of that even mean?) I'm not a reader (nor a fan) of Jezebel. But if a self-proclaimed feminist publication uses it so often, you should not fear to use it for gender reasons. Just please write better than Jezebel.

Solution 2:

Both "bargain-basement NOUN" and "cut-rate NOUN" express the essential idea of a lower-quality substitute or stand-in, as does "ersatz NOUN." Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003) defines ersatz as follows:

ersatz adj (1875) : being a usu. artificial and inferior substitute or imitation [examples omitted]

None of these options works as a straight swap for "the poor man's NOUN," however. You would have to reframe the guncotton example (for instance) to say something like this:

"Functionally, guncotton amounts to bargain-basement TNT."

or

"Guncotton works like cut-rate TNT."

or

"Guncotton is essentially ersatz TNT."

I share anongoodnurse's view that "poor man's" is unlikely to be deemed politically or sociologically insulting in most settings, but offense is in the brain of the taker whether the giver intends it so or not. Fortunately, if you want to avoid the expression "poor man's NOUN"—for whatever reason—you'll find that many alternative wordings are readily available.