not worth a brass farthing
- idiom
- Archaic
:
no vale un céntimo
- The jewels turned out to be fake and not worth a brass farthing.
Examples
-
Your promises are not worth a brass farthing after so many disappointments.
-
That idea is not worth a brass farthing!
-
He realized the guarantee was not worth a brass farthing when the product broke.
-
This watch is not worth a brass farthing!
-
The old car is not worth a brass farthing since it's beyond repair.
-
Her excuses were not worth a brass farthing after she missed the deadline again.
-
This outdated technology is not worth a brass farthing in today's market.
Synonyms
298
3.0
Has no value or use
2
9.9
Something of little or no worth
1
7.0
Having little or no value
1
6.2
Of no value or use
1
9.6
Has no value and is useless to anyone
Not useful and having little value
A thing that has no value or use
Something of very little or no value
No money at all
It has very little value
Antonyms
How Worthless
- Archaic
298
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
not + worth + a + brass + farthing
The meaning 'completely worthless' is directly derivable from the parts: 'not worth' (having no value) plus 'brass farthing' (a very small/cheap coin), so it literally means 'not worth even a tiny coin.' Although the phrase is somewhat archaic, the monetary-minimum-value logic is compositional and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would understand it.
Etymology
Not worth a brass farthing may come from old British coins: a farthing was a very small coin and a brass farthing was even cheaper, so it had almost no value. That's why the phrase means 'completely worthless'.