the.com/sweet deal
A bargain so good you check twice for hidden fees.
means An arrangement or purchase that gives you unusually generous value for what you put in.
from A straightforward pairing rather than a single coined word: 'sweet' has marked things as pleasing or advantageous since Old English (swēte), extending from taste to anything agreeable — a 'sweet spot,' a 'sweet ride.' 'Deal' comes from Old English dǣl, meaning a share or portion, which evolved into the sense of a bargain or transaction by the 19th century. Push them together and you get a phrase that's less etymology than arithmetic: pleasing + transaction = suspiciously good arrangement.
- origin
- sweet meant pleasing long before it meant sugary
- red flag
- the better it sounds, the harder you should look
- economics
- someone always pays for the sweetness