Idiom
A dime a dozen
If things are a dime a dozen, they are very common, easy to find and not especially valuable.
How people use it
People use this for things or people that are plentiful and ordinary: "Coffee shops are a dime a dozen around here." It often suggests something is not special, as in "Good ideas are a dime a dozen, but finishing them is hard." It can sound dismissive when said about people, so be careful. The phrase is informal and mainly American; British speakers might say "two a penny" or "ten a penny" instead.
Examples
- Cheap phone chargers are a dime a dozen, but good ones are hard to find.
- In this town, pizza places are a dime a dozen.
- Business plans are a dime a dozen, and what matters is doing the work.
Where it comes from
A dime is the US ten-cent coin. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, goods such as eggs or apples were sometimes sold at a dime a dozen, which was a low price. The phrase became a common figure of speech for anything cheap and plentiful in American English in the first half of the 1900s.
Check yourself
1. If a friend says used bikes are a dime a dozen in your city, what does she mean?
Answer: They are common and easy to find. A dime a dozen means plentiful and ordinary, not literally ten cents.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: Souvenir shops are a dime a dozen near the beach.. The idiom fits things that are everywhere, not rare items.
Similar idioms
Word game fan? See every word hiding in DIME.