Why Do We Say ‘A Dime A Dozen’?
The dime was first minted in America in 1796, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that the idiom “a dime a dozen” come into use. In the early 20th century, “a dime a dozen” was a sales pitch for a good deal. When eggs were sold for 10 cents per
dozen, the customer paid less than a penny an egg. What a bargain! By the 1920s, variety stores were known as “dime stores” and “5 & 10s” because they sold an assortment of inexpensive household goods for a nickel or dime. They were the equivalent of today’s dollar stores, and...
