n.
- 【英】便士;一便士硬幣[C]
Please give me ten
pennies for this tenpence piece.
請替我把這十便士換成十個一便士硬幣。
- 【美】一分;一分硬幣[C]
- 一小筆錢;(用於否定句)一文錢[S]
The excursion won't cost you a
penny if you go with us.
如果你與我們一起去,這趟旅行就不會花你一文錢。
Nobody will bet one
penny that they will succeed.
誰也不會花一個子兒打賭說他們會成功。
I paid a pretty
penny for that picture.
我花了一大筆錢買那幅畫。
片語
A penny for your thoughts!
- 告訴我你在想什麼!
Hi! Tom.
A penny for your thoughts! 喂!湯姆,你在想什麼?
a pretty/fine penny
- 一大筆錢
It costs
a pretty penny to keep a car nowadays because of the high price of petrol.
由於汽油價格高,現在擁有一輛汽車要耗費一大筆錢。
in for a penny, in for a pound
- 一不做,二不休
not have a penny to one's name
- 身無分文
At the moment he does
n't have a penny to his name.
他現在身無分文。
pennies from heaven
- 意外之財;不費力而得的東西
What we need now is
pennies from heaven.
我們現在需要的是意外之財。
penny wise and pound foolish
- 小處精明,大處浪費
Forbidding private phone calls in the office cannot really reduce the company's expenses; it's just being
penny wise and pound foolish.
禁止在辦公室打私人電話其實不能減少多少開支;反而是因小失大。
pinch pennies
- 精打細算
We'll have to spend money when necessary. Don't try to
pinch pennies all the time.
該花錢時我們還是得花。別總是精打細算。
辨析
n.
(pl. for separate coins pennies, for a sum of money pence)
-
(abbrev.: p.)
a British bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound.
▸
(abbrev.: d.)
a former British coin and monetary unit equal to one twelfth of a shilling and 240th of a pound.
▸N. Amer. informal a one-cent coin.
▸(in biblical use) a denarius.
-
[with neg.]
(a penny)
no money at all.
Phrase
- be two
(or ten)
a penny
chiefly Brit. be plentiful and thus of little value. - in for a penny, in for a pound
expressing an intention to see an undertaking through, however much time, effort, or money this entails. - pennies from heaven
unexpected benefits. - the penny drops
informal, chiefly Brit. one finally realizes something. - a penny for your thoughts
a request to someone to say what they are thinking about.
Usage
On the different uses of the plural forms pence and pennies, see usage at pence.
Etymology
OE penig, penning of Gmc origin; perh. rel. to pawn2 and (with ref. to shape) pan1.