Idiom
nickel and dime
Meaning
Small time; operating on a small scale; involving small amounts of money; petty or cheap.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“They nickel and dime their customers for every small service.”
“Cheap hotels often nickel and dime you for basic things like towels.”
“The airline will nickel and dime you for extra bags, seat selection, and even water.”
“I decided to quit that job because the manager would nickel and dime me over every five-minute break I took.”
“The contractor promised a low price, but then he started to nickel and dime us for every nail and screw he used.”
“Rather than offering a comprehensive package, the company chose to nickel and dime its clients through a series of hidden, incremental fees that eventually totaled a significant sum.”
Examples
simple
“They nickel and dime their customers for every small service.”
“Cheap hotels often nickel and dime you for basic things like towels.”
contextual
“The airline will nickel and dime you for extra bags, seat selection, and even water.”
“I decided to quit that job because the manager would nickel and dime me over every five-minute break I took.”
“The contractor promised a low price, but then he started to nickel and dime us for every nail and screw he used.”
complex
“Rather than offering a comprehensive package, the company chose to nickel and dime its clients through a series of hidden, incremental fees that eventually totaled a significant sum.”
Origin
The phrase originates from the American retail landscape of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, specifically referencing stores where every item was priced at either a nickel or a dime. The idiom emerged from this commercial practice of accumulating small, individual charges which, while minor in isolation, collectively constituted the entirety of a transaction.
Key words
Related idioms
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