chicken feed

noun

Slang.

1. an insignificant sum of money.

   He's so rich that $1000 is chicken feed to him.

2. small change, as pennies and nickels.

chicken feed

noun

1. slang,  a trifling amount of money

Word History and Origins

Origin of chicken feed¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Idioms and Phrases

Trifling amount of money, as in I'm not going to mow lawns for $5 an hour—that's chicken feed. This expression alludes to the fact that chickens can be fed corn and wheat grains too small for other uses. [Slang; early 1800s]