Definition

1. Noun:
   • A former United Kingdom silver coin: A small coin made of silver that was used in the United Kingdom before decimalization.
   • A United Kingdom bronze decimal coin worth two pennies: A coin introduced after decimalization in 1971, made of bronze and valued at two new pence.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • I found an old twopence from 1903 in my grandfather's collection.
  • The bus fare used to cost just a twopence.
  • He gave the child a bright new twopence for her piggy bank.

Advanced Usage

• "Not worth a twopence": Used to describe something as having little or no value.
  • His opinion on the matter isn't worth a twopence.
• "To put in one's twopence worth" (also "two cents" or "two pennies' worth"): To offer one's opinion, often when it is unsolicited.
  • Everyone was quiet until John had to put in his twopence worth.

Variants and Related Words

• Tuppence (noun): A common informal spelling and pronunciation variant of "twopence".
  • It only cost me tuppence at the jumble sale.
• Twopenny (adjective): Costing or worth two pence; also used figuratively to mean cheap or insignificant.
  • He bought a twopenny stamp.
  • It was just a twopenny argument, not worth worrying about.

Synonyms

• Two pence: The literal equivalent in modern decimal currency.
• Tuppence: Informal variant.
• Deuce (archaic): An old slang term for two pence or a two-pound note (context-dependent).

Related Phrases

• A twopenny-halfpenny thing/shop: Describing something as very cheap or trivial.
  • He made his fortune but still worries about every twopenny-halfpenny expense.
• As queer as a nine bob note / As bent as a nine bob note: (Idiom, not directly using "twopence" but from the same era of pre-decimal currency, implying something is fake or suspicious).

Noun

1. a former United Kingdom silver coin; United Kingdom bronze decimal coin worth two pennies