Meaning
The square metal can that kerosene ('home oil') came in — and, once empty, one of the handiest containers in the old Jamaican yard, reused to carry and store water, to measure produce, and cut down to make everything from a coal stove to a wash pan to a toy. A 'tin' of water or grain became an informal unit of measure. Thrifty and endlessly useful, the kerosene tin is a small monument to make-do country resourcefulness.
Examples
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Fetch water inna di kerosene tin.
Fetch water in the kerosene tin.
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Wi measure di corn by di tin.
We measure the corn by the tin.
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Him cut di kerosene tin fi mek a coal stove.
He cut the kerosene tin to make a coal stove.
Origin
From 'kerosene' + 'tin'; the reusable square kerosene can. See [[coal-stove]], [[wash-pan]].
How it’s used
The square kerosene can, reused as container and informal measure. See [[coal-stove]], [[wash-pan]].