nickel-and-dime

American  

[nik-uhl-uhn-dahym] / ˈnɪk əl ənˈdaɪm /

adjective

1. of little or no importance; trivial; petty.

   a nickel-and-dime business that soon folded.

---

verb (used with object)

nickel-and-dimed, nickeled-and-dimed nickel-and-diming, nickeling-and-diming

1. to expose to financial hardship or bankruptcy by the accumulation of small expenses, bills, etc..

   We're being nickel-and-dimed to death by these small weekly expenses.

2. to hinder, annoy, or harass with trivialities or nonessentials.

   to be nickeled-and-dimed by petty criticisms.

Etymology

Origin of nickel-and-dime

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

But don’t nickel-and-dime your enjoyment of your life in order to punish yourself for financial decisions.

From MarketWatch

Many teams are trying to slow down Kansas City’s offense by playing zone defenses, but the tradeoff is watching Travis Kelce nickel-and-dime his way down the field.

From Washington Times

After years of allegedly running other nickel-and-dime scams, Santos appears to have concluded, for good reason, that the GOP donation pool is composed of easily shaken down marks.

From Salon

“This is meant to nickel-and-dime, audit and harass America’s small businesses and families, who they know cannot afford the legal fees to fight this army,” Malliotakis said.

From Seattle Times

Maybe they result in some nickel-and-dime gains for businesses from people who throw in the towel and pay whatever’s being demanded.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• frivolous
• lesser
• minor
• narrow-minded