nickel-and-dime

[ nik-uhl-uhn-dahym ]

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

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