dime

A miniscule, insignificant, or indiscernible amount of difference. Often used in the negative for extra emphasis. There isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two candidates—they're both crooks, in my opinion. You can holler all you like, it won't make a dime's worth of difference.

To snitch or inform on someone to a person of higher authority. Originally street slang for informing to police, it refers to the old price of using a public payphone (10 cents). Primarily heard in US, South Africa. Timmy is such a teacher's pet, always ready to drop a dime on any of the other students he thinks are misbehaving. He knew he was facing 10 years in prison, so he agreed to drop a dime or two to police in exchange for a lighter sentence.

A kiss. My grandmother would always say, "Come give me a yankee dime, my dear," when she wanted a kiss.

Ubiquitous; so abundant or common as to hold little or no value. In Los Angeles, waiters trying to become famous actors are a dime a dozen. That bird might be a rare sight where you come from, but around here they're a dime a dozen.

To be ubiquitous; to be so abundant or common as to hold little or no value. In Los Angeles, waiters trying to become famous actors are a dime a dozen. That bird might be a rare sight where you come from, but around here they're a dime a dozen.

Fig. abundant; cheap and common. People who can write good books are not a dime a dozen. Romantic movies are a dime a dozen.

Sl. to start moving; to get out of a stopped position. Why don't you get off the dime and complete some of these projects that you started? As soon as the board of directors gets off the dime on this proposal, we will have some action.

Fig. to make numerous small monetary charges that add up to a substantial sum. Those contractors nickel-and-dimed me to death. Just give me the whole bill at one time. Don't nickel-and-dime me for days on end.

worthless. This land is all swampy. It's not worth a dime. This pen I bought isn't worth a dime. It has no ink.

Fig. to come to a stop in a very short distance. This thing will stop on a dime. Imagine a bus that could stop on a dime.

to halt someone immediately. When you told us the bad news, it stopped me cold.

Fig.[for a vehicle] to turn in a very tight turn. This car can turn on a dime. I need a vehicle that can turn on a dime.

commonly available Remember, editors are a dime a dozen, so if she causes trouble, fire her.

to end movement very quickly The car stopped on a dime to avoid slamming into a truck.

to change direction very quickly The economy is not likely to turn on a dime between now and the end of the year. We never knew what our father would decide because his opinions could turn on a dime.

to be common and not have much value Romantic novels like these are a dime a dozen.

to have little or no value It turns out her precious painting isn't worth a dime - it's a fake.

if a vehicle or its driver turns or stops on a dime, they turn or stop in a very small space His car is great for parking - it can turn on a dime.

very ordinary and not important (always before noun) We drove along past deserted gas stations and nickel-and-dime diners.

to charge someone small amounts of money for something, often as an extra payment I hate being nickeled and dimed by hotels for local telephone calls - they already charge you so much for the room.

So plentiful as to be valueless. For example, Don't bother to buy one of these-they're a dime a dozen. The dime was declared the American ten-cent coin in 1786 by the Continental Congress. [First half of 1900s]

Inform on or betray someone, as in No one can cheat in this class-someone's bound to drop a dime and tell the teacher. This expression, alluding to the ten-cent coin long used for making a telephone call, originated as underworld slang for phoning the police to inform on a criminal and occasionally is extended to any kind of betrayal. [1960s]

Take action, especially following a time of indecision or delay. For example, It's time this administration got off the dime and came up with a viable budget. This expression originated in the 1920s in dance-halls as an imperative for dancers to get moving. By 1926 it had been extended to other activities.

In a very small space, suddenly, as in That horse is so well trained it can turn on a dime. This expression alludes to the fact that the dime is the smallest-size U.S. coin. [Early 1900s]

Also, stop dead or in one's tracks or on a dime . Halt suddenly, come to a standstill, as in When a thread breaks, the machine just stops cold, or He was so surprised to see them in the audience that he stopped dead in the middle of his speech , or The deer saw the hunter and stopped in its tracks, or An excellent skateboarder, she could stop on a dime. The first term uses cold in the sense "suddenly and completely," a usage dating from the late 1800s. The first variant was first recorded in 1789 and probably was derived from the slightly older, and still current, come to a dead stop, with the same meaning. The second variant uses in one's tracks in the sense of "on the spot" or "where one is at the moment"; it was first recorded in 1824. The third variant alludes to the dime or ten-cent piece, the smallest-size coin.

Overly abundant; commonplace.

At a precise point; within a narrowly defined area: a sports car that stops on a dime.

To make a telephone call, especially to the police to inform on or betray someone.

To snitch, to betray. Once upon a time, pay phones in enclosed booths could be found on most urban streets as well as in other public areas. Vandalism was rare, so the phones worked, and equally surprising to us today, local calls cost a dime. A person who wanted to report something to the authorities that he or she didn't want anyone to overhear and didn't want the call traced located a secluded phone booth and deposited ten cents. That's the dime that was dropped down the coin slot. The dime-dropper took a big chance, because if the droppee found out, the rat stood a good chance of being exterminated.

To move or to stop wasting time. Back in the 1920s and '30s, taxi dancers were female dance hall employees whose livelihood was dancing with any men who paid for the opportunity. The usual fee was ten cents, but that's not what “dime” in “get off the dime” meant. Dancing with man after man for hours on end was tiring business, and the women often draped themselves over their partners and moved their feet as little as possible, no more than the width of a dime. Although the men didn't object, dance hall managers did. That sort of mobility might lead to hankypanky that would invite attention from the police and other enforcers of public morality. “Get off the dime” was the order, whereupon the women were then obliged to take more energetic dance steps.