subs. (old).—1. Money in general; OOF (q.v.). Hence ‘A PRETTY PENNY’ = a large sum.
See RHINO.
1362. LANGLAND, Piers Plowman, xiii. 246. Lo, how PANS purchasede · faire places and drede.
1596. SHAKESPEARE, Merry Wives of Windsor, ii. 2. 1. I will not lend thee a PENNY. Ibid. (1596), King John, v. 2. What PENNY hath Rome borne, what men provided?
1887. Contemporary Review, li. 17. Shah Sujah and Shere Ali cost India a PRETTY PENNY.
d. 1892. TENNYSON, Will Waterproof’s Lyrical Monologue.
| Or that eternal want of PENCE, | |
| Which vexes public men. |
2. (American).—A cent.
[Various colloquial usages obtain: e.g., A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS = a call to persons in a BROWN STUDY (q.v.); AT FIRST PENNY = at first bid or offer; CLEAN AS A PENNY = (1) very clean, and (2) completely; NOT A PENNY TO BLESS ONESELF WITH = very poor; PENNY OR PATERNOSTER = pay or prayers, love or money: cf. MONEY OR MARBLES (GASCOIGNE); TO THINK ONE’S PENNY SILVER = to have a good opinion of one’s self; TO TURN A HONEST PENNY = to earn money honestly; TO TURN (or GET) A PENNY = to make money, to endeavour to live (DRYDEN); PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH = careful in small matters and extravagant in large ones (GROSE); PENNY PLAIN OR TWO-PENCE COLOURED = said of things varying in quality.]
1510. FOXE, Acts and Monuments [CATTLEY], iv. 192. It is merry to turn the PENNY.
c. 1520. The Booke of Mayd Emlyn [HAZLITT, Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England, IV. 85].
| His wyfe made hym so wyse, | |
| That he wolde TOURNE A PENY TWYSE, | |
| And then he called it a ferthynge. |
1546. HEYWOOD, Proverbs, s.v. He had NOT ONE PENY TO BLISSE HIM. Ibid. A PENY FOR YOUR THOUGHT. Ibid. NO PENY NO PATERNOSTER.
1566. GASCOIGNE, Supposes, i. 1 [HAZLITT (1869), Poems, i. 202]. Pitie nor pencion, PENY NOR PATER NOSTER, shoulde euer haue made Nurse once to open hir mouth in the cause.
1594. GREENE and LODGE, A Looking-Glass for London and England, 123.
| Alvi. Believe me, though she say that she is fairest, | |
| I THINK MY PENNY SILVER by her leave. |
1588. R. GREENE, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay [DYCE, Works, i. 167]. How cheer you, sir? A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHT.
d. 1631. CAPT. JOHN SMITH, Works, ii. 219. Her fraught, which she sold AT THE FIRST PENNY.
1641. H. PEACHAM, The Worth of a Peny, 267. PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH.
c. 1696. B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. PENNY-WHITE. PENNY-WISE AND POUND-FOOLISH, Sparing in a little and Lavish in a great Deal, save at the Spiggot and let it out at the Bung-hole. Ibid. TO GET A PENNY, to endeavour to Live. Ibid. TO TURN AND WINDE THE PENNY, to make the most of one’s Money.
1692. DRYDEN, Persius, Satire 5. Be sure to TURN THE PENNY.
1708–10. SWIFT, Polite Conversation, i. Neverout. … Come; A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS. Miss. It is not worth a Farthing; for I was thinking of you.
1740. RICHARDSON, Pamela, II. 56. I am AS CLEAN AS A PENNY, though I say it.
1885. Daily Telegraph, 23 Sept. Override any arguments advanced by the supporters of a PENNY-WISE AND POUND-FOOLISH policy.
