Cheap as a Sardinian
Preserved but no longer current.
A Roman phrase referring to the great crowds of Sardinian prisoners brought to Rome by Tiberius Gracchus, and offered for sale at almost any price.
Một cụm từ La Mã ám chỉ số lượng lớn tù nhân Sardinia được bán với giá rất rẻ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Cheap as a Sardinian” mean?
A Roman phrase referring to the great crowds of Sardinian prisoners brought to Rome by Tiberius Gracchus, and offered for sale at almost any price.
Is “Cheap as a Sardinian” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.