to nickel and dime
1
8.5
- phrasal verb
- /ˈnɪkəl ənd daɪm/
- Informal
:
cobrar pequeñas cantidades
- It's frustrating when businesses nickel and dime you for every little service they provide.
Examples
-
Don't you nickel and dime me.
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And then, you know, they're going to tighten the screws and nickel and dime as I'm sure Lightning, Lightning Lane those.
-
If your time is valuable enough to hire someone, you do not have the time to nickel and dime your PA.
Blog text (9) -
It's that exact kind of attitude that allows people to ignore the complaints as companies like EA nickel and dime consumers to death.
Blog text (10) -
Mostly because I'm on a budget (though that is kind of a silly excuse given how much I've nickeled and dimed my way past it, mostly via the Steam Summer Sale).
Blog text (9) -
I'm well-versed in airlines nickel-and-diming passengers with fees for food, baggage, premium seating, and such, but this seating situation is a glitch that's new to me.
Blog text (9) -
Many restaurants nickel and dime their customers with hidden charges on the bill.
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The company decided to nickel and dime its employees by reducing their travel reimbursements.
Antonyms
How Costly
- Informal
76
6.5
18
3.4
- Informal
1
8.5
808
2.0
233
2.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'nickel' and 'dime' clearly evoke very small coins, so a learner who knows those words can infer a sense of small amounts being involved. However, the idiomatic verb sense—repeatedly or unfairly charging many small amounts—and the cultural specificity of US coins are pragmatic extensions that are not fully predictable from the parts alone.
Etymology
The verb nickel and dime comes from the picture of being charged many tiny coins: a nickel and a dime are small coins, and if someone adds them again and again you quickly pay more than you expect. That's why it means 'to charge small amounts again and again', often in a cheap or unfair way.