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Adjective: nickel-and-dime  'ni-kul-un,dIm
Usage: N. Amer, informal
  1. Of minor importance
    "a nickel-and-dime operation run out of a single rented room";
    - small-time, rinky-dink [N. Amer, informal]
     
  2. Low-paying
    "a nickel-and-dime job"
Verb: nickel-and-dime  'ni-kul-un,dIm
Usage: N. Amer, informal
  1. Spend money frugally; spend as little as possible
    "They had to nickel-and-dime to save for their vacation";
    - penny-pinch [informal]
     
  2. Accumulate gradually
    "He nickel-and-dimed his way to a small fortune through careful saving"

Derived forms: nickel-and-diming, nickel-and-dimes, nickel-and-dimed

See also: budget, cheap, inexpensive, unimportant

Type of: come up, drop, expend, scrape, scrape up, scratch, spend