a wooden nickel

A person or thing that only vaguely appears to have any real value, but is ultimately worthless. A nickel is worth five cents, thus already being worth very little. Primarily heard in US. This whole accreditation scheme has as much value as a wooden nickel when it does nothing to get you more work in the field. I'm done accepting wooden nickels—capricious women who say they love me, then get bored and decide I'm not worth their time. If you ask me, their business is just a wooden nickel. Sure, it's popular now, but how will they ever sustain it?

a wooden nickel

AMERICAN

If you call something a wooden nickel, you mean that it is completely false or has no value. Note: A nickel is a five cent coin and a dime is a ten cent coin. He looked at the card as though it were a wooden nickel. `That doesn't prove a thing,' he said.