two a penny
- idiom
- Archaic
:
muy común
- Talented writers seem two a penny these days, but true originality is rare.
Examples
-
Promises from politicians are two a penny during election season.
-
Those souvenirs are two a penny in this market.
-
In this city, coffee shops are two a penny and easy to stumble upon.
-
In this town, good restaurants are two a penny.
-
Good musicians are two a penny in this city, making it hard to stand out.
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In the market, cheap souvenirs are two a penny, easily found at every stall.
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Since everyone can access online courses, useful skills are two a penny these days.
Synonyms
12
3.2
Very common and not special or valuable
1
7.0
Having little or no value
1
8.6
Very common and not worth much
1
9.7
Of little value and not important
Very common and not worth much
Small and of little value or importance
Cheap and not worth much
Cheap and not worth much
It has very little value
Antonyms
How Common
Surface Forms
Morphology
The expression evokes a unit price (literally 'two for a penny'), so a learner who knows 'two' and 'penny' can plausibly infer cheapness or abundance from the constituents. However, the fixed colloquial ordering 'two a penny' and its adjectival use meaning 'very common' is a conventionalized idiom and not fully predictable from literal meanings alone, so some exposure is usually required.
Etymology
The idiom two a penny comes from old shops and market stalls where sellers would offer two items for a penny, a picture of things sold very cheaply. So, when we say something is two a penny now, we mean it is 'very common' or 'of little value'.