What it means
Used when something's ridiculously cheap, the sort of price that makes you blink once and buy it before the universe sobers up. If you got it dirt cheap, you paid very little for it and you know you've landed a proper bargain.
Usage examples
"We bought the old table dirt cheap at a car boot sale and it turned out to be solid oak underneath the paint."
"We picked up the new dining table at the antiques fair of the village hall of Hebden Bridge on Saturday morning dirt cheap, the elderly gentleman selling the four-piece set wanted to clear the loft of the family home before the Christmas decorations went up, and the price came down to ninety pounds for the four matching chairs and the table."
"The flight to Bordeaux for the weekend was dirt cheap on the Ryanair app on the Tuesday morning, twenty-eight pounds return from the Stansted terminal on the four o’clock afternoon departure, with hand luggage included and the chance to add the priority boarding at the gate for an extra five pound surcharge."
"I got this leather jacket dirt cheap off Marketplace and I'm still smug about it."
"Those trainers were dirt cheap in the outlet, so I grabbed two pairs and called it financial genius."
Where it comes from
Recorded in English since the early 1800s, dirt cheap leans on the idea of dirt as something common, low-value, and everywhere. The image is dead simple, which is probably why it caught on so hard in both British and American English and never really let go.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
Earthy Spark Tamer Official watcher of this expression
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