penn'orth

penn'orth
noun (singular + of) BrE old-fashioned a pennyworth penny noun plural pennies or pence /pens/ BrE (C)
1 a small bronze coin, used in Britain since 1971, worth one hundredth (1/100th) of a pound: a bag of pennies
2 plural pence abbreviation p a unit of money used in Britain since 1971: there are 100 pence in one pound. | It only costs a few pence. | a 20 pence piece
3 AmE a coin worth a cent in the US or Canada: I only have pennies and nickels in my pocket.
4 written abbreviation d plural pence a unit of money in Britain before 1971, equal to one 12th (1/12th) of a shilling: pounds, shillings and pence | twopence/threepence etc: a book costing only sixpence
5 fourpenny/sixpenny etc worth or costing fourpence, sixpence etc of the money used in Britain before 1971: a sixpenny piece
6 not a penny no money at all: Not a penny of the money came to me. | She'll never get a penny from me.
7 every penny all of an amount of money: You'd better pay it back - every penny!
8 the/your last penny the only money that is left: She had given away her last penny.
9 a penny for your thoughts/a penny for them spoken used to ask someone what they are thinking about when they are silent
10 the penny (has) dropped BrE informal used to mean that someone has finally understood something that had been said
11 be two/ten a penny BrE to be very cheap and easy to obtain, and therefore of little value: Computer experts are two a penny nowadays.
12 not have two pennies/half-pennies to rub together BrE informal to be very poor
13 in for a penny, in for a pound BrE used to mean that if something has been started, it should be finished, whatever the cost may be
14 turn up like a bad penny BrE if someone you dislike turns up like a bad penny, they keep appearing in situations where they are not wanted
—see also: halfpenny, spend a penny spend (5), cost a pretty penny pretty 2 (7)

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • penn'orth — [[t]pe̱nəθ[/t]] PHRASE: det poss PHR, usu PHR after v During a discussion about something, if you have your two penn orth or put in your two penn orth, you add your own opinion. [BRIT, INFORMAL] Please do be patient I m sure you want to have your …   English dictionary

  • penn'orth — var. of PENNYWORTH. * * * penn orth f10 [penn orth] [ˈpenəθ] [ˈpenərθ] noun usually singular (old fashioned, BrE) …   Useful english dictionary

  • penn'orth — pen|n orth [ˈpenəθ US ərθ] n [singular] BrE old fashioned [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: pennyworth] a ↑pennyworth …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • penn’orth —  (British, mostly historical.) A penny’s worth …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • penn'orth —    for a penny s worth …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • penn'orth — n. pennyworth, amount that has a value of one cent; small amount …   English contemporary dictionary

  • penn'orth — [ pɛnəθ] noun variant spelling of pennyworth …   English new terms dictionary

  • penn'orth — UK [ˈpenə(r)θ] / US [ˈpenərθ] noun [singular] British old fashioned the amount of something that you can buy with a penny …   English dictionary

  • penn'orth —  Pennyworth …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • put in in (your) two penn'orth — put in/stick in (your) two penn orth British, old fashioned to give your opinion in a conversation, often when it is not wanted. Whenever the subject of hunting comes up you can rely on Anthony to put his two penn orth in …   New idioms dictionary

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