Dime

Hey everybody, today we will go over some idioms that use the word, dime.

A dime is a 10 cent coin in the US though sometimes we also say dime in Canada.

Probably the most recent slang term or idiom using dime is:

A dime bag which is a small amount of illegal drugs sold for 10 dollars. This is most useful when watching movies or crime dramas.

An older idiom is to drop the dime on someone. This means that you snitched on someone. Again, it is useful when watching crime dramas though it's a pretty old idiom and not so common anymore.

To snitch on someone, means you told the police (parents, teachers, etc.) about something bad someone did and they got caught and got in trouble.

"Mickey dropped a dime on Donald and he's in the Big House(prison) now!"

I think the idiom to drop the dime on someone comes from the fact that before when you made a phone call you had to pay a dime. So you would drop a dime into the phone to make a phonecall. For more information check out this link:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=DROP+A+DIME

At the drop of a dime, be careful this is a completely different idiom! It is still fairly common and it means you will do something instantly, without hesitation. We use this idiom to talk about OTHER PEOPLE and usually for NEGATIVE THINGS.

"Don't make Jimmy angry he'll kill you at the drop of a dime!"
(kill you without stopping to think about it)

"My girlfriend gets angry at the drop of a dime, it's driving me crazy."
(gets angry easily)

A dime a dozen, this idiom is pretty useful it means that something is common and easy to find, not so valuable, easy to replace, etc.

"Cute girls are a dime a dozen in LA."
(cute girls are everywhere in LA)

A: "Sorry, I lost your magazine."

B: "Don't worry about it, they're a dime a dozen."
(very common, not so valuable)

The last idiom I want to talk about is; on a dime. This has two meanings:

1- At a precise point, precisely.

"My new car can stop on a dime."
(can stop at an exact point)

"This motorcycle can turn on a dime."
(can turn very precisely)

2- Cheaply, inexpensively, without spending a lot of money.

"This book is great! It can tell you how to live on a dime."
(how to live without spending a lot of money)

"I'm tired of traveling on a dime! Let's take a more luxurious trip."
(traveling cheaply)

That's all for now, hope you enjoyed the lesson and be sure to live a comment in the comments section!

Phil