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Glite Dictionary
to turn a nice penny

to turn a nice penny

7.2
Make good money from a business or activity
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : generar buenas ganancias
  • He turned a nice penny from his investments last year.

Examples

  • The local bakery managed to turn a nice penny by catering to special events.

  • They always find a way to turn a nice penny, even in tough economic times.

  • She hoped her latest investment would turn a nice penny over the holiday season.

  • Are you sure you can turn a nice penny with that venture?

  • The new restaurant in town is designed to turn a nice penny during peak dining hours.

  • Freelancers can often turn a nice penny by taking on multiple clients at once.

  • With the increase in online sales, the small business was able to turn a nice penny this year.

Synonyms

to earn
vsto turn a nice penny
780 1.0

To get money for work you do or from a business

focuses on a satisfactory business return rather than ordinary payment
to make money
vsto turn a nice penny
477 1.2

To get money by working or running a business

emphasizes a good or pleasing return rather than generic income
to profit
vsto turn a nice penny
140 3.2

To get an advantage from something

narrows this to monetary gains that are good or satisfactory
to make a killing
vsto turn a nice penny
  • Informal
21 4.9

To earn a lot of money very quickly and easily

describes a smaller, satisfactory gain rather than huge fast earnings
to turn a profit
vsto turn a nice penny
19 3.2

To earn more money than you spend running a business or project

expresses a satisfactory result rather than any simple surplus
to turn a nice dollar
vsto turn a nice penny
  • Informal
7.8

Make a good amount of money from business or sales

has the same meaning but uses a different monetary term

Antonyms

loss
695 2.1

Money lost by a business or person

How Profitable

to turn a nice dollar
  • Informal
7.8
to turn a nice penny
  • UK
7.2
to earn
780 1.0

Surface Forms

turn a nice penny infinitive
turned a nice penny past
turned a nice penny past participle
turning a nice penny present participle
turns a nice penny third person singular

Morphology

turn + a + nice + penny

The parts suggest a monetary meaning — 'turn' can have a financial sense (to earn) and 'penny' names money, so a learner who knows the constituents could infer the expression relates to making money. However the specific sense 'to make a satisfactory/good profit' is idiomatic and relies on conventional collocation ('turn a nice penny'), so the exact meaning is not fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom turn a nice penny comes from old shopkeepers who would turn a penny by using a small coin in trade and making it earn more money. So today it means 'to make a good profit'.