Idiom | Nickel-and-Dime |
---|---|
Example | He said he worked for a big corporation, but it was really only a nickel-and-dime company. |
Meaning | unimportant, small-time, trivial, petty |
Origin | In this 20th-century African-American saying, "nickel-and-dime" refers to two of the smallest units of United States money. Anything that's "nickel-and-dime" is the opposite of "big bucks." Note: This expression can also be used as a verb meaning to act in a cheap manner, as in "He never takes her to fancy restaurants. He always nickels and dimes her." |
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