What it means
It means very cheap, proper bargain territory. You'd say it when something costs so little it feels almost daft not to buy it. Usually it's warm and approving, but it can also have a tiny wink of doubt if the low price hints the thing might be a bit rubbish.
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
A well-established British idiom, recorded in the 20th century, built on the idea that chips were a cheap, everyday staple from the local chippy. The neat rhyme and repetition made it stick fast, so cheap as chips became an easy, cheerful way to say something costs hardly anything.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
Kneader of Green Silences Official watcher of this expression
Tell me, what have you got for me?