or penn’orth, subs. (colloquial).—One’s money’s-worth; a right equivalent; what’s owing and more: a GOOD PENNYWORTH = a royal bargain: cf. ROBIN HOOD’S PENNYWORTH; TO CAST PENNYWORTHS = to count the cost.—B. E. (c. 1696); GROSE (1785).
1534. UDALL, Roister Doister, IV. vii. 75 [ARBER]. I will haue some PENYWORTH, I will not leese [lose] all.
1588. Marprelate’s Epistle, 27 [ARBER]. If you deny me this request I will … haue my PENIWORTHS of them for it.
1600. SHAKESPEARE, Much Ado about Nothing, ii. 3. We’ll fit the kid fox with a PENYWORTH.
1605. CHAPMAN, All Fools, ii. I do not doubt, But t’have my PENNYWORTHS of these rascals one day.
1678. DRYDEN, Prologue to Œdipus, 33.
| You needs will have your PENN’ORTHS of the play, | |
| And come resolved to damn, because you pay. |
1695. LOCKE, The Reasonableness of Christianity, 170. The priests sold the better PENNYWORTHS, and therefore had all the custom.
1712–3. SWIFT, The Journal to Stella, 25 March, lxii. The Bishop of Clogher has bought abundance of pictures, and Dr Pratt has got him very good PENNYWORTHS.
1717. CIBBER, The Non-juror, iv. Col. One would think the villain suspects his footing … is but short-lived: he is in such haste to have his PENNYWORTHS out on’t.
1724. DEFOE, Tour through the Eastern Counties of England, 1722, 21. It is very good farming in the marshes, because the landlords let good PENNYWORTHS.
1748. MONTAGUE Thursday: The Bassette Table [DODSLEY, Poems, III. 287].
| Behold this equipage by Mathers wrought, | |
| With fifty guineas (a good PEN’ORTH!) bought. |
1757. FRANKLIN, Poor Richard’s Almanac, f. 1758. Many have been ruined by buying good PENNYWORTHS.
1771. SMOLLETT, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker [GIBBINGS (1900), i. 54]. Mistress said, if I didn’t go, I should take a dose of bumtaffy; and so remembering how it worked Mrs. Gwyllim a PENN’ORTH, I chose rather to go again with her into the bath, and then I met with an axident.
1860. G. ELIOT, The Mill on the Floss, III. vi. My mother gets a good PENN’ORTH wi’ picking feathers an’ things.
