Can anyone offer a Thai equivalent for the American phrase "nickel and dimed (to death)", as in "seemingly hidden ongoing expenses which, over time, add up to a large expense"? Thanks!

Can anyone offer a Thai equivalent for the American phrase "nickel and dimed (to death)", as in "seemingly hidden ongoing expenses which, over time, add up to a large expense"? Thanks!

ทีละเล็กทีละน้อย (doing things)

เก็บเล็กผสมน้อย (saving money)

กินเล็กกินน้อย (corruption)

Can anyone offer a Thai equivalent for the American phrase "nickel and dimed (to death)", as in "seemingly hidden ongoing expenses which, over time, add up to a large expense"? Thanks!

Something like งบบานปลาย gnop (high tone) ban( mid tone) pblai(midtone) which means the budget\costs are escalating.

Do these really capture the essence of the phrase? Perhaps an example will clarify the sentiment I'm seeking:

Imagine your Thai friend splurges on a pre-paid weekend at a luxury hotel, maybe 10,000 baht per night. Upon checkout they're presented with a bill for a some small items: a couple bottles of water, towel service, a local phone call, maybe 50 baht in total. Arguably the charges are legitimate but presenting the bill does little more than engender ill feelings in your Thai friend. What, if anything, might your Thai friend say about this?

The example is quite different from the definition your first gave.

I don't really think anyone who can afford to spend 10,000 baht per night for accommodation would make a fuss about an additional 50 baht for legitimate services. So it's hard to imagine why they would be upset, perhaps you could clarify?

I don't really think anyone who can afford to spend 10,000 baht per night for accommodation would make a fuss about an additional 50 baht for legitimate services. So it's hard to imagine why they would be upset, perhaps you could clarify?

OK, the original definition I presented isn't that good. And now I've tried to find a really good definition of the meaning as I intend it but I can't, I can only find examples. (If there were a good definition then maybe we wouldn't need the idiom?)

The first 2 replies seem to mean it where all the charges are small but can add up. Micropayments, "a death by a thousand cuts", etc. Good stuff and I appreciate the replies.

But there is another meaning, which is the one I was thinking of: where the nickel and dimes are insignificant compared to the total amount spent. Somewhere between "sweating the small stuff" and "penny wise, pound foolish". A golf course that charges $100 for a round of golf, and $0.50 for a box of tees. A corporation that pays its executives multi-million dollar bonuses, then chastises its employees for making too many color photocopies. (Is it possible that I've simply been using the wrong idiom all these years?)

Why might your Thai friend be upset? Well, if he's a poo-yai he may be insulted that he is not getting proper respect. If he's just a hard-working stiff he may feel like he's been taken for a chump. In either case, why bother to annoy the customer over such a small sum -- especially when it's the last thing they're going to remember about their stay?

(Sure, 50 baht can seem like a lot of money on it's own, but the difference between 10,050 baht and 10,000 baht seems like a lot less. It does to me, anyways. I'm still learning about Thailand, but I'm pretty sure the concept of face and trying to not appear to be scavenging after every baht comes into play here.)

Thanks for the insights!

I don't know of any idiom for this, and it might not capture the *mood* of what you're thinking of here, but how about something simple like this:

หมดตัวทีละสิบบาท or หมดตัวทีละห้าบาทสิบบาท

Translated, it'd mean something fairly close to "going broke ten baht at a time."

And slightly cruder version of หมดตัว is หมดตูด. Maybe a native Thai can comment on that. It's not "clever" per se, but it's pretty much a literal translation of the original phrase.

When I think of "nickel and diming to death," I think of the state I'm living in. It has no sales tax, no state income tax, which they like to brag about, but it feels like EVERYthing has a small fee attached to it, where other states might provide it as a service because you're already paying those other larger taxes. The locals very often use this phrase to describe the state government.