nickel-and-dime

[nik-uh l-uh n-dahym]Informal.

adjective

of little or no importance; trivial; petty: a nickel-and-dime business that soon folded.

verb (used with object), nick·el-and-dimed or nick·eled-and-dimed, nick·el-and-dim·ing or nick·el·ing-and-dim·ing.

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.

to hinder, annoy, or harass with trivialities or nonessentials: to be nickeled-and-dimed by petty criticisms.

Origin of nickel-and-dime

First recorded in 1965–70