cheap (redirected from cheapness)

dirt cheap

extremely cheap. Buy some more of those plums. They're dirt cheap, In Italy, the peaches are dirt cheap.

See also: dirt

Talk is cheap.

Prov. It is easier to say you will do something than to actually do it. (Saying this in response to someone who promises you something implies that you do not believe that person will keep the promise.) My boss keeps saying she'll give me a raise, but talk is cheap. You've been promising me a new dishwasher for five years now. Talk is cheap.

See also: talk

Why buy a cow when you can get milk for free? and Why buy a cow when milk is so cheap?

Prov. Why pay for something that you can get for free otherwise. (Sometimes used to describe someone who will not marry because sex without any commitment is so easy to obtain. Jocular and crude.) I don't have a car because someone always gives me a ride to work. Why buy a cow when you can get milk for free? Mary told her daughter, "You may think that boy will marry you because you're willing to sleep with him, but why should he buy a cow if he can get milk for free?"

See also: buy, can, cow, get, milk, why

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a cheap shot

a criticism of someone that is not fair She dismissed his comments as a 'cheap shot', saying that he was only concerned to defend himself. Federal bureaucracy is the target for every cheap shot artist (= someone who likes criticizing other people) in America.

See also: shot

cheap and cheerful  (British informal)

costing little money but attractive, pleasant, or enjoyable They specialize in cheap and cheerful package holidays to Spain and Portugal.

See also: and

cheap and nasty  (British & Australian)

costing little money and of bad quality You know the sort of cheap and nasty clothes that are sold on market stalls.

See also: and, nasty

Cheap at half the price!  (British & Australian humorous)

something that you say when something is very expensive 'That'll be £5.20 please.' 'What? For one bottle of beer! Cheap at half the price.'

See also: half

dirt cheap  (informal)

extremely cheap This may seem like a great deal of money but in advertising terms it is dirt cheap.

See also: dirt

life is cheap

if life is cheap somewhere, people's lives have little value so if they die it is not important In the city, gunmen rule the streets and life is cheap.

See also: life

on the cheap

if you buy or do something on the cheap, you buy or do it for very little money, often with the result that it is of bad quality The buildings would have been a whole lot better if they hadn't been built on the cheap.

pile it/them high and sell it/them cheap  (mainly British)

to sell large amounts of something at cheap prices The shops at the lower end of the clothing market have survived by piling it high and selling it cheap.

See also: and, high, pile, sell

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on the cheap

for not much money In Paris you can eat on the cheap in some good Left Bank restaurants.