for a song

Idioms & Phrases

for a song

Very cheaply, for little money, especially for less than something is worth. For example, "I know a man ... sold a goodly manor for a song" (Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well, 3:2). This idiom alludes to the pennies given to street singers or to the small cost of sheet music. [Late 1500s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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