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.
“A Dime a Dozen” Origin
“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
In film and television, screenwriters frequently use “a dime a dozen” in dramatic dialogue to dismiss something as ordinary, highlight disposable assets, or contrast a common commodity with something truly rare and irreplaceable:
- Superman Returns (2006): Lex Luthor dismisses manufactured wealth and human lives as easily replaceable commodities compared to finite natural resources: “You can print money, manufacture diamonds, and people are a dime a dozen, but they’ll always need land.”
- Fast & Furious (2009): Dom Toretto sets a high bar for an elite crew by dismissing basic skills, pointing out that skilled racers are everywhere, but true getaway drivers require rare talent: “You all know why you’re here. Good drivers are a dime a dozen.”
- Knowing (2009): Nicolas Cage’s character questions human pattern-seeking, noting that arbitrary theories are far too common to be meaningful: “I mean, numerology, kabala, Pythagorean cults… there are systems that find meaning in numbers, and they are a dime a dozen. Why?”
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996): Gargoyle Hugo encourages Quasimodo by contrasting generic, cliché heroes with his unique character: “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.”
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.