brass farthing
- noun
- /brɑːs ˈfɑːθɪŋ/
- Archaic
:
céntimo sin valor
- "I wouldn't give a brass farthing for that broken chair; it's useless!"
Examples
-
Have I asked you for a brass farthing?
-
" Nothing here that anybody in his right mind would pay a brass farthing for.
Fiction book (1999) -
She wouldn't spend a brass farthing on something so trivial.
-
After all his hard work, he found himself with not a brass farthing to show for it.
Synonyms
5
9.9
A British coin from the past worth a quarter of a penny, also meaning a very small amount
2
9.9
Something of little or no worth
1
9.9
A thing that is worth almost nothing
Antonyms
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Morphology
brass + farthing
Both constituents directly signal low monetary value: 'brass' as a cheap metal and 'farthing' as a very small coin. A learner who knows those words can readily infer a very small or worthless sum from their combination rather than an idiosyncratic idiom. The meaning is therefore compositional and transparent to someone familiar with the parts.
Etymology
The expression brass farthing comes from old British money: a farthing was a very small coin and brass is a cheap metal. Because a tiny coin made of cheap metal seemed almost worthless, people used the phrase to mean 'a very small or worthless amount'.