I think it's a confusion of "cheap at twice the price." I doubt that most people understand what they're saying.

Asa has hit it on the head. When I asked Laverne, who is a great deal smarter than I, she replied, "Means it's cheap," but when I pointed out the inconsistency, she allowed, "I dunno"

Thus you need a sixth choice

I thought we'd talked about this before, but I couldn't find it. I wonder if someone, like Quinion, has written about the origin of this phrase. Maybe the phrase has changed over the years, or perhaps it had originally meant expensive.

Quinion has. It was his article that prompted the question. I know what it means when I use it and I know what it's always meant when people in my region use it. Quinion finds that its used inconsistently. Some people use it one way, some the other. I wanted to get an idea of how people here use it.

The only way I'd use it would be ironically, but I know a lot of businesses seem to think it means 'a good bargain'.

I believe that the phrase is used in the same way that people say "I could care less," which is exactly the opposite of their intended meaning. They intend to say, "I could NOT care less," but don't say that. Curious, I think. What's the proper term for this sort of inversion of intent?

Asa: I think you have nailed it once more

Good q by the way, and I'd like to know too; maybe it doesn't have a name

There's a thorough rundown of the expr in another board that I cannot identify for fear of breaching protocol, but if you're interested, I am dalehileman@verizon.net

I know the phrase only from the song Who Will Buy? from the musical Oliver!:

Who will buy this wonderful morning?
Such a sky you never did see!
Who will tie it up with a ribbon
And put it in a box for me?
There'll never be a day so sunny,
It could not happen twice.
Where is the man with all the money?
It's cheap at half the price!

(etc.)

Bob, thanks for the heads up about the Quinion link. It surely explained it for me. The original phrase by the street traders was "cheap at twice the price." So Quinion's father said that if it were cheap at twice the price, being cheap at half the price was a sarcastic way of calling something over-priced. Quinion theorizes that when that sarcastic phrase became used in other situations, the meaning became unclear. Makes sense to me, though it isn't a definitive explanation.

Pick a little talk a little
Pick a little talk a little
Cheap cheap cheap!
Talk alot pick a little more . . .



Sorry - just had to burst out in song!

Sign in a poultry hatchery: Cheepers by the dozen.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
Quinion theorizes that when that sarcastic phrase became used in other situations, the meaning became unclear. Makes sense to me, though it isn't a definitive explanation.

My old friend Ambrose Bierce had the meaning of price, off to a tee:
Price: "Value, plus a reasonable sum for the wear and tear of conscience in demanding it." http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/p.html

Know wor I mean? Wink, wink; nudge, nudge; elbow, elbow…

Thanks for that link, Pearce. We have his book, but I didn't realize that it is also online.

Yes, that definition makes a lot of sense.