bargain basement | Idiomator

Meaning: An area within aretailstore, especially an area located below ground level, where theleastcostlymerchandisecan be found.1922,Christopher Morley, chapter 6, inWhere the Blue Begins:"Where will I find an aluminum cooking pot?" growled the elder Beagle unexpectedly."In theBargain Basement," said Gissing promptly.1949April 11, “Business & Finance: Basement Bedlam”, inTime, retrieved5 August 2013:To proper Bostonians . . . it was not quite a riot: it was merely the first big postwar men's-wear sale at Filene'sbargain basement.; (attributively,oftenhyphenated)Inexpensive.1987June 18, “Soviets to offerbargain-basementsatellite launches”, inThe Courier, Arizona, USA, retrieved5 August 2013, page 3A:The Soviet Union is offering to send commercial satellites into orbit atbargain-basementprices.2007January 19,Stephen Holden, “A Producer for All Seasons (Also Juggles)”, inNew York Times, retrieved5 August 2013:An ebullient woman aswirl in colorful layers ofbargain-basementclothes and zany hats, Barbara Siegel also happens to be chairwoman of the Drama Desk nominating committee.; (idiomatic,attributively,oftenhyphenated)Ofpoorquality; of little or novalue;low-end,shoddy.1965July 30, “The Law: Police: Deputy Doe, B.A.”, inTime, retrieved5 August 2013:"This nation can't affordbargain-basementcops any more," says Oregon's Multnomah County (Portland) Sheriff Donald Clark. . . . Almost everyone agrees that U.S. police sorely need more education.1984March 27, “Democrats Stall Anti-crime Bill, Reagan Hints”, inSchenectady Gazette, retrieved5 August 2013, page12:"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 andbargain-basementequipment."

Examples:

EN: # To the castle of... # She looks as though he found her in a bargain basement. She surely got him interested.
ES: ¿Y pensar que este tipejo ha querido a una inocente chica, por no mencionar su condición de O'Dare de County Clare, insultarla de esa forma?
EN: Of course, once you told me I was no good, I could probably get a job at a bargain basement and like it.
ES: Si me dice que no sirvo... pediré empleo en un sótano y me conformaré.
EN: Well, I came and I looked around, from every angle, from the bargain basement to the Ritz Tower.
ES: ' Me vine y ya lo he visto todo, desde una cloaca hasta la torre del Ritz.
EN: I'm sorry, Parsons, but it's been agreed that Mr Thyrtle in the bargain basement will deal with all deferments in future, so if you'd care to go and see him...
ES: Lo siento, Parsons, pero debe tratar de eso con el Sr. Thyrtle. Si quiere, puede hablar con él.
EN: My grandmother's, my great-grandmother's, the bargain basement.
ES: Mi abuela, mi bisabuela, y el resto unos apaños.
EN: You're full of notions as a bargain basement.
ES: Te sobran los presentimientos.
EN: I feel like something that's been on sale in a bargain basement.
ES: Me siento como una falda barata en liquidación.
EN: Well, go on down to Gimbels bargain basement.
ES: Para eso vete al mercadillo.
EN: I can already see her in the witness chair- without any makeup... her hair just a little straggled and gray... wearing a rather faded print dress from a bargain basement... and no girdle.
ES: Me la imagino en el estrado: Sin maquillaje, con el cabello despeinado y con canas... con un vestido de tela desteñida de un sótano de liquidaciones... y sin faja.
EN: Where, in a bargain basement?
ES: - ? Dónde? ?
EN: You gotta be smart unless you want to work in a bargain basement!
ES: Tienes que ser inteligente, a menos que quieras trabajar en la sección de ofertas.
EN: Treat it like a bargain basement speola. You start grabbing it.
ES: La tratas como un artículo en rebajas e intentas quedártelo.
EN: Then I bought Masaru a coat in the bargain basement, and then...
ES: Después, le compré un abrigo a Masaru en las rebajas. Y después...
EN: I worked at a department store in the bargain basement, and I even sold pots and pans door to door.
ES: Trabajé en una tienda en el sótano de ofertas... y hasta vendí ollas de casa en casa.
EN: What do you think this is, a bargain basement?
ES: ¿Qué crees que es esto? ...una tienda barata?

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