two ha'penny
- noun
- /ˈtuː ˈheɪpəni/
- Archaic
:
dos peniques
- This old book is a real two ha'penny find!
Examples
-
You can get a great meal for just two ha'penny.
-
That market stall offers two ha'penny vegetables compared to the supermarket.
-
He bought the coat for a two ha'penny price during the clearance sale.
-
Old timers still talk about the days when tea was two ha'penny in the corner café.
-
He found those shoes for a real two ha'penny price at the thrift shop.
-
You can get a delicious sandwich for only two ha'penny at that deli.
-
At the flea market, everything was two ha'penny compared to the mall prices.
Synonyms
12
3.2
Very common and not special or valuable
1
8.6
Very common and not worth much
1
7.2
Small and not important, usually involving little money
A very good deal that is worth more than its low price
Costing very little money
Cheap and not worth much
Small and of little value or importance
Very common and not worth much
Very common and not worth much
Antonyms
How Cheap
- Informal
14
2.8
- Archaic
∞
1.0
86
1.0
307
2.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'cheap; of little value' is derivable from the constituents because two ha'pennies denotes a very small monetary amount, so a B1 learner who knows 'two' and the archaic coin 'ha'penny' could infer low value. However, the expression is somewhat dated and idiomatic (requires cultural/historical knowledge of British coinage and the metaphorical shift from small price to poor quality), so the connection is not fully transparent for typical learners.
Etymology
Two ha'penny may come from old prices when an item cost two small coins called a ha'penny, which was half of a penny. So the idea of paying only two tiny coins led the phrase to mean 'very cheap' or 'a bargain'.