# "Cheap at \_\_\_\_\_ the price"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-at-_____-the-price/656706
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 25, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-at-_____-the-price/656706 "2013-04-25T21:20:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-at-_____-the-price/656706/1 "2013-04-25T21:20:30Z")
Which is it, “half” or “twice”?
I say “half” makes no sense at all. Virtually everything is cheap at half the price. Something that’s cheap at twice the price is damn cheap and rare.
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### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-at-_____-the-price/656706/2 "2013-04-25T21:34:48Z")
I agree in modern lingo, but I think in some cases, such as the lyrics to the song _Who Will Buy?_ from _Oliver!_:
> [@](#):
>
> 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!
>
> source: [Who Will Buy? Lyrics - Oliver Soundtrack Lyrics](http://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/o/oliverlyrics/whowillbuylyrics.html)
it’s meant to be interpreted as “it’s half the price of cheap”, or “take whatever cheap is and then half that”.
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### Author:  [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-at-_____-the-price/656706/3 "2013-04-25T21:37:05Z")
Did you post this in two forums? The same poll is in IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-at-_____-the-price/656706/4 "2013-04-25T22:25:47Z")
I always thought that the original spiel was “cheap at twice the price.” And when that became a cliche, “cheap at half the price” came in as a joke.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-at-_____-the-price/656706/5 "2013-04-26T00:27:00Z")
> [@Skammer](#):
>
> Did you post this in two forums? The same poll is in IMHO.
Reported as a duplicate - ["Cheap at \_\_\_\_\_ the price" - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=689203)
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-at-_____-the-price/656706/6 "2013-04-26T02:23:04Z")
We don’t need two of these.