The Penny
At our January meeting we looked at the humble penny in the UK and abroad. here are some colloquial uses:
"A penny for your thoughts" is a way of asking someone what they are thinking about. It was first documented John Heywood's 1547 Dialogue Conteinying the Nomber in Effect of All the Proverbes in the Englishe Tongue
"In for a penny, in for a pound," is a common expression used to express someone's intention to see something through, however much time, effort, or money this entails.
To "give (one's) tuppence/tuppenny/two'penneth (worth)", is a saying that uses the words for two pence to share one's opinion, idea, or point of view, regardless of whether or not others want to hear it. A similar expression using the US term of cents is my two cents. Give me five cents in Catalonia means to give the summary only.
To
"spend a penny" means to urinate. Its etymology is literal:
coin-operated public toilets commonly charged a pre-decimal penny, beginning
with the Great Exhibition of 1851.
