penny /ˈpeni/► SEE ALLin for a penny, in for a poundthe penny dropsa penny for your thoughtspenny wise (and) pound foolishturn up like a bad pennytwo/ten a pennya pretty pennyspend a penny ●ˌin for a ˈpenny, ˌin for a ˈpound (saying) once you have decided to start doing sth, you may as well do it as well as you can, even if this means spending a lot of time, energy, money, etc.一不做，二不休；一旦开始就干到底◆The new carpet made everything else look old, so we thought ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’, and we painted the room and bought a new sofa too! 铺上了新地毯，其他东西都显得很旧，我们就一不做，二不休，粉刷了房间，还买了新沙发！●the ˌpenny ˈdrops (informal, especially BrE) suddenly understand the meaning or significance of sth恍然大悟；终于明白；茅塞顿开◆She never understands jokes. It usually takes about half an hour for the penny to drop. 她从来都听不懂笑话，通常要过半个小时左右才恍然大悟。◆There was a long silence on the stage, and then the penny finally dropped — it was my turn to speak. 舞台上出现了好长一段时间的沉默，后来我突然回过神来，该我说台词了。NOTE This is a comparison with the way a machine starts after a coin is inserted.有的机器在投入硬币后才会发动，这种说法正是与此相比拟的。●a ˌpenny for your ˈthoughts ( a ˈpenny for them) (saying) used to ask sb what they are thinking about你在寻思什么呢◆A penny for your thoughts, Hugh! You haven’t said anything all evening! 你在寻思什么呢，休，你整晚都没吭声！●penny ˌwise (and) pound ˈfoolishused to say that sb is very careful about small matters but much less sensible about larger, more important things小事精明大事糊涂◆When it comes to a used car, don’t be penny wise and pound foolish. Spend the money to have the vehicle checked out. 在二手车方面，千万别因小失大，宁可花点钱把车子检修一下。●turn up like a bad ˈpenny (informal) appear when you are not welcome or not wanted, especially when this happens regularly当不速之客；（尤指经常）不请自来◆He turns up like a bad penny every time there’s a chance of a free meal or a drink. 每次一有免费吃饭或喝酒的机会，他就不请自来。●two/ten a ˈpenny (BrE) (NAmEa ˌdime a ˈdozen) very cheap or very common, and therefore not valuable多得不值钱；廉价而易得◆In the small towns on the coast, lobsters are two a penny. 在海滨小镇，龙虾十分便宜。◆Finding a job will be difficult. History teachers are ten a penny at the moment. 找工作太难了，现在历史老师遍地都是。●a pretty ˈpenny (old-fashioned) a lot of money很多钱；一大笔钱◆Have you seen the neighbour’s new car? That must have cost a pretty penny.你看到邻居的新车了吗？那肯定花了一大笔钱。●spend a ˈpenny (old-fashioned, BrE, informal) go to the toilet; urinate方便；小便◆Do you want to spend a penny before we leave?我们离开前你要方便一下吗？ORIGINIn the past, public toilets in England had coin operated locks, which cost one penny to open.旧时，英国的公共厕所装有投币锁，要投进一便士才能打开。