The Worth Of A Penny

[LostInTyme]

See a penny, pick it up,
and all the day, you’ll have……
………a penny in your pocket.

For, after all, a penny saved,
is just a penny,
and it won’t buy much
of anything.

But, if you find twenty-five
pennies, you’ll have
two bits.

For, as we all know,
two bits, four bits,
six bits, a dollar.

And, what can you do,
with a dollar?
Go downtown
and holler.

You know downtown,
where all the lights are bright.
But everything
costs more than a dollar,
so you might just and stay
home, and holler.

So, back to the title,
what’s a penny worth?
It’s worth a penny,
although it costs
almost three cents
to make.

That makes no cents.
And have you thought
about the nickel?
It costs ten and a half cents
to make.
and, you can’t find a
nickelodeon to put it in.

Come to think
about it,
see a penny,
leave it lie,
‘cause it really, truly
is a lie.​

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^^
Your authorship?

 

[LostInTyme]

Yes, it is.

 

[tonyb]

Very good. Is it of recent, um, coinage?

 

[LostInTyme]

Yes, it is one of my more recent efforts.

 

[GHT]

The name "penny" comes from the Old English pennige, pronounced "pennije," sharing the same root as the German Pfennig. The penny used the letter 'd' as an abbreviation. For example three pennies written would be 3d. That letter 'd' dates right back to the Roman denarius.

Why do the British say spend a penny?
Spend a penny means to go to the toilet, especially a public toilet. One usually is said to be going to spend a penny. The expression is derived from the fact that public toilets were installed in the United Kingdom in the mid 1800's that required a penny to be unlocked.

The phrase "penny wise, pound foolish" refers to a situation where someone is overly concerned with saving small amounts of money (the pennies) but overlooks or neglects larger, more significant expenses (the pounds.)

The meaning for “a penny for your thoughts” is: “What's on your mind?” or “Tell me what you are thinking,” especially when someone looks pensive, or they haven't said very much and have been quiet for a while about a specific topic.

The old saying, 'Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves,' was reformulated by the great Scottish American businessman Andrew Carnegie, 1835–1919, for use by managers: Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.

A bad penny always turns up: Our mistakes return to haunt us; also, nasty people have a way of reappearing.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
In another thread was mention of the phrase “drop a dime,” which meant alert law enforcement to a person’s illegal behavior. To rat on someone, in other words. It was a reference to a time when local calls on pay phones cost 10 cents.

If young people know the meaning of the phrase, which is itself doubtful, it’s even more doubtful they would know its origins. Pay phones are all but unknown these days, and the last time I recall using one, at least 25 years ago, a local call cost 35 cents.

 

[Edward]

^^^^^
In another thread was mention of the phrase “drop a dime,” which meant alert law enforcement to a person’s illegal behavior. To rat on someone, in other words. It was a reference to a time when local calls on pay phones cost 10 cents.

If young people know the meaning of the phrase, which is itself doubtful, it’s even more doubtful they would know its origins. Pay phones are all but unknown these days, and the last time I recall using one, at least 25 years ago, a local call cost 35 cents.

American guitar players will also often refer to "diming" an amplifier. Took me a minute when I first discovered that saying to twig it meant "turn it all up to 10" (i.e. the maximum. Unless your amp is *special* and goes to eleven).