threepenny

/'θrepəni/

Thân thiện

A carpenter selects a threepenny nail from his toolbox.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Of trifling worth; having very little value or importance: Describes something considered cheap, insignificant, or of poor quality.
   • Used of nail size; 1 1/8 inches long: A specific technical designation for a nail's length in some measurement systems.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective (Value):
  • He bought a threepenny trinket from the market stall.
  • Her opinion was dismissed as a threepenny thought.
• Adjective (Nail Size):
  • For this job, you'll need a box of threepenny nails.

Advanced Usage

• "Not worth a threepenny bit": An idiom emphasizing that something is utterly worthless.
  • His promise isn't worth a threepenny bit.
• "Threepenny opera": A famous work by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, where the term evokes themes of cheapness and the underworld.
  • The themes in 'The Threepenny Opera' critique bourgeois society.

Variants and Related Words

• Threepence (n): A former British coin worth three old pence.
  • He found an old threepence in his grandfather's drawer.
• Threepenny bit (n): The specific coin worth three pence.
  • The threepenny bit was a small, twelve-sided coin.

Synonyms

• Cheap: Low in price and quality.
• Trifling: Of little value or importance.
• Paltry: Ridiculously or insultingly small.

Antonyms

• Valuable: Worth a great deal of money or importance.
• Precious: Of great value; not to be wasted or treated carelessly.

Related Idioms

• "Not care/give a threepenny damn": To not care at all.
  • I don't give a threepenny damn what they think.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. of trifling worth
2. used of nail size; 1 1/8 in long

Từ đồng nghĩa

• sixpenny
• twopenny
• tuppeny
• two-a-penny
• twopenny-halfpenny