bargain basement

plural bargain basements

1. An area within a retail store, especially an area located below ground level, where the least costly merchandise can be found.

   "Where will I find an aluminum cooking pot?" growled the elder Beagle unexpectedly. "In the Bargain Basement," said Gissing promptly.

   1922, Christopher Morley, chapter 6, in Where the Blue Begins

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   To proper Bostonians […] it was not quite a riot: it was merely the first big postwar men's-wear sale at Filene's bargain basement.

   1949 April 11, “Business & Finance: Basement Bedlam”, in Time, retrieved 05 Aug 2013

comparative more bargain basement · superlative most bargain basement

1. derogatoryfigurativelyInexpensive.

   The Soviet Union is offering to send commercial satellites into orbit at bargain-basement prices.

   1987 June 18, “Soviets to offer bargain-basement satellite launches”, in The Courier, Arizona, USA, retrieved 05 Aug 2013, page 3A

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   But it’s also a sign of the ascendant state of clowning, which, not long ago, resided in the bargain basement of artistic respect, alongside ventriloquists, mimes and jugglers. No longer.

   2025 October 7, Jason Zinoman, “What Clowns! (That’s a Compliment)”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

   When you shoot an animal in Mozambique, as in many African countries, you must pay a predetermined sum. Stones offers the menu on his website: impalas ($600) and warthogs ($700) are the bargain basement. He could arrange for you to shoot a crocodile or even a hippopotamus, if you so wish, for a mere $5,800. A leopard – currently classed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature − will set you back $11,650. A lion? $25,000. Lions, Stones noted drily, are “not something you dish out like doughnuts”.

   2026 April 21, Cal Flyn, “On the trail with the hunters who believe shooting big game can save Africa’s wildlife”, in The Guardian

   An ebullient woman aswirl in colorful layers of bargain-basement clothes and zany hats, Barbara Siegel also happens to be chairwoman of the Drama Desk nominating committee.

   2007 January 19, Stephen Holden, “A Producer for All Seasons (Also Juggles)”, in New York Times, retrieved 05 Aug 2013

2. attributivederogatoryfigurativelyOf poor quality; of little or no value; low-end, shoddy.

   "We are not going to ask the brave young men and women who defend this country to put their lives on the line using obsolete weapons and bargain-basement equipment."

   1984 March 27, “Democrats Stall Anti-crime Bill, Reagan Hints”, in Schenectady Gazette, retrieved 05 Aug 2013, page 12

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   "This nation can't afford bargain-basement cops any more," says Oregon's Multnomah County (Portland) Sheriff Donald Clark […]. Almost everyone agrees that U.S. police sorely need more education.

   1965 July 30, “The Law: Police: Deputy Doe, B.A.”, in Time, retrieved 05 Aug 2013