Something that is a dime a dozen is very common and easily found; plentiful and of little to no value; or common and therefore cheap.
This expression can refer to a thing or a person. Although cost (a dime) is mentioned, the expression does not always refer to the subject being cheap or inexpensive but simply plentiful. Cheapness may also be implied, but never when a person is the subject.
Origin of “A Dime a Dozen”
“A dime a dozen” has been used as an idiom since the first half of the 1900s. A dime refers to a ten-cent piece in the U.S., declared so by the Continental Congress in 1786. A dozen is twelve of any item. This idiom thus alludes to something being so common that twelve can be bought for only ten cents. In other words, it can be bought for less than one cent each. However, the purpose of the phrase is not necessarily to convey cheapness as much as it is to emphasize that the item is plentiful and valueless.
Movie Citations
“He said, “You can print money, manufacture diamonds, and people are a dime a dozen, but they’ll always need land.” — Superman Returns (2006)
“You all know why you’re here. Good drivers are a dime a dozen.” — Fast & Furious (2009)
“I mean, numerology, kabala, Pythagorean cults…there are systems that find meaning in numbers, and they are a dime a dozen. Why?” — Knowing (2009)
“Knights in shining armor certainly aren’t her type. And those guys are a dime a dozen. But you, you’re one of a kind.” — The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Similar and Related Idioms
- Cheap and Cheerful: Something that is cheap and cheerful is inexpensive but of decent quality; cheap but good, pleasant, or enjoyable; cheap but useful; doesn’t cost very much but will serve its purpose. (Chiefly UK)
- Dirt Cheap: very inexpensive.
- Chopped Liver: someone unimportant, insignificant, trivial, worthless, unappealing; easy to ignore (More often used as part of the fuller phrase from Jewish humor, “What am I, chopped liver?”)
- No Great Shakes: Ordinary, mediocre, average, or not very good; unimportant; insignificant; uninteresting.