nickel and dime

/ˌnɪkəl ən ˈdaɪm/

verb 2
adjective 1
noun 2
forms 16

verb2

•
(US, informal) To charge, or be charged, several unexpected small amounts of money, often in the form of fees, taxes, or related expenses to a venture, which when taken as a whole add up to a significant unexpected cost.
- I got nickel and dimed to death by the phone company's sneaky extra charges.
- It seems like a great offer, but they will just nickel and dime you until you've spent more than retail anyway.
(informal, figurative) To wear down in small increments; to quibble or obsess endlessly with (someone) over trifles.

adjective1

•
(US, informal) Small time; operating on a small scale; involving small amounts of money; petty or cheap.
- I bought my new ride from some nickel and dime used-car salesman.
- Don't waste your time with that; their operations are nickel and dime.

noun2

(US, old-fashioned) A retail store selling inexpensive items, especially (originally, formerly) one in which all items had a price near a nickel (US five cents) or a dime (US ten cents).
(US, slang) Fifteen years.

forms

nickel and dimed · nickel-and-dimed · nickeled and dimed · nickeled-and-dimed · nickelled and dimed · nickelled-and-dimed · nickel and diming · nickel-and-diming · nickeling and diming · nickeling-and-diming · nickelling and diming · nickelling-and-diming · nickel and dimes · nickel-and-dimes · nickels and dimes · nickels-and-dimes