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.

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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

“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

Since deregulation in the 1980s, the entire banking industry has grown more reliant on reaching into people’s pockets with nickel-and-dime fees, as opposed to its traditional focus on loan interest.

From Los Angeles Times

It does also seem like a way to further nickel-and-dime students through a kind of “food DRM.”

From The Verge

If I want a book, I’m not going to nickel-and-dime a brick-and-mortar shop, especially when so many of them are struggling.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• frivolous
• lesser
• minor
• narrow-minded