thin dime

thin dime

1. dated Used to describe a dime's physical appearance as well as to emphasize how little something costs if you can get it for just 10 cents. Primarily heard in US. Before 1959, you could get two bottles of Coca-Cola for a single thin dime. Hey, could you spare a thin dime for a phone call?
2. dated An extremely small amount of money. Usually modified with "one" or "a single." Primarily heard in US. There was a time that I didn't have one thin dime to my name. Now I'm a millionaire!
See also: dime, thin
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

thin dime

n. a dime, thought of as a very small amount of money. (A concept eroded by inflation.) For only one thin dime you will receive our exciting catalog of novelties and tricks.
See also: dime, thin
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • any fool can/could...
  • any fool could (do something)
  • AIIC
  • no fox given
  • something else again
  • something else entirely
  • (and) not before time!
  • as it were
  • a (damn) sight more (something)
  • a sight more
References in periodicals archive
Not one thin dime needs to be spent from the operating budget of DND to pay for one new soldier, sailor, or airman over four years.
The wee man, let it be said and not misunderstood, deserved every last thin dime of his takeaway pay.
When you're certain your company really is cash-crunched and that you can't jar loose another thin dime, think of alternatives.
"The terms can be phrased in such a way that it doesn't cost the taxpayer one thin dime."
And Rangers are living with the consequences of the time when money was no object and McCann refused to spend "one thin dime" over what he thought was in Celtic's best interests.
Turns out neither comes close to one thin dime on the dollar.
We 12-year-olds would park our bikes and, for one thin dime, catch the #4 Robinson bus to the center of the universe.
"There is not one thing more important to the public safety community than this--and there is not one thin dime in it for us."
One example: Wal-Mart agreed to charge one dime more than local grocers for a six-pack of pita bread.Arwa Hamad says her devotion to Dearborn's Muslim merchants doesn't simply rest on one thin dime. After all, when her husband goes to their Arab butcher, he buys in bulk.
Measure 44 won't cost taxpayers one thin dime. It simply expands the successful Oregon Prescription Drug Program by removing the existing age and income restrictions.
2) I did not choose between representing myself or permitting counsel to do so, and I have yet to receive one thin dime from the SPJ towards securing counsel.
AFTER FEDERAL RELIEF ADMINISTRATOR Harry Hopkins charged in 1935 that the state of Kansas had "not spent a thin dime" for its relief programs, this quote became an issue in the presidential campaign the following year.
admits that, actually, he just spent his last thin dime on Honus and must now declare bankruptcy.
The newly-elected MP for anti-war party Respect said he hadn't received "one thin dime" from Saddam, adding: "You have nothing on me."
"He writes: "[Blogs are] a complete waste of time--a pure vanity publication that won't pay you back even one thin dime for your effort."