penny for your thoughts
3
7.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
un centavo por tus pensamientos
- When she fell quiet, I asked, Penny for your thoughts?
- penny for your thoughts," he said
Examples
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He looked distant, so I said, Penny for your thoughts.
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A penny for your thoughts.
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"Penny for your thoughts," he said the other day.
Fiction book (1999) -
Penny for your thoughts, chief!
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If you say, "a penny for your thoughts," I'll jump overboard.
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Penny for your thoughts?
-
Penny for your thoughts? I noticed you seem lost in thought.
Synonyms
3
8.2
Tell us what you think
To ask someone if they agree or what they think
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal words (a small coin 'penny' + 'for your thoughts') give a clear metaphor of offering money in exchange for someone's ideas, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents could infer a request to hear what someone is thinking. However, the phrase is a conventionalized, cultural idiom used to solicit someone's thoughts rather than a literal offer of payment, so the exact pragmatic meaning is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
The idiom penny for your thoughts comes from the old idea of offering a small coin to hear someone's quiet ideas; imagine placing a penny to 'buy' their thoughts. So, it is used to ask someone 'what are you thinking' when they are silent.