What it means
Means something’s ridiculously cheap, the kind of price that makes you do a double take and brag to your mates. It’s usually praise for a bargain, but it can also carry a little side-eye, like yeah it was a steal because it’s a bit naff. Classic UK phrase, as dependable as a chippy tea.
Usage examples
"I grabbed a coat for a tenner at the charity shop, cheap as chips. Zip’s knackered, but for this weather I’ll live."
"Grabbed three jumpers in the sale, cheap as chips, and they are exactly what I needed for the winter."
"The market stall does bunches of flowers cheap as chips on a Sunday afternoon when they want to clear the lot."
"These trainers were cheap as chips off Vinted, and they still look barely worn."
"We got loads of veg from the market right before closing, cheap as chips and proper decent stuff too."
Where it comes from
This is a long-running British idiom built on the old idea that chips were one of the cheapest, most everyday things you could buy from a chippy. The alliteration helps it stick, so cheap as chips became the go-to way to say something's very inexpensive in a cheerful, very UK sort of way.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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