What does 'dog-cheap' mean?
'Dog-cheap' means extremely cheap — a perversion of Old English 'god-chepe', a good bargain. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), human-proofread transcription on English Wikisource records: “A perversion of the old English god-chepe (a good bargain). French, bon marché (good-cheap or bargain). "The sack . . . would have bought me lights as good-cheap at the dearest chandler's in Europe."— Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV., iii. 3.”
Origin
- Verbatim from Brewer's (1898): A perversion of the old English god-chepe (a good bargain). French, bon marché (good-cheap or bargain). "The sack . . . would have bought me lights as good-cheap at the dearest chandler's in Europe."— Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV., iii. 3.
How to use it
- Modern usage: 'Dog-cheap' means extremely cheap — a perversion of Old English 'god-chepe', a good bargain.
- When quoting the origin, cite Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — this is a 19th-century record, not a modern etymology.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.