How can the dropping of the penny in the toilet door equate to the realisation of something? The British phrase the penny dropped is used to indicate that someone has finally understood or realised something. In German you'd say "der Groschen ist gefallen" (the Groschen (10 pence) has dropped. ( Log Out / In Reply to: The penny drops posted by Miri Barak on September 07, 2004: : : Remembering something that my mother used to do to me as a child, I was wondering why - and then 'the penny dropped'.
The online version of the Collins Dictionary has just been updated again, with another batch of new words and meanings inspired by the events of the summer.
The online version of the Collins Dictionary has just been updated again, with another batch of new words and meanings inspired by the events of the summer. Change ). Though the term remains in use, the type of situation that the idiom was derived from is seldom seen anymore. The penny drops definition: said to mean that someone finally understands or realizes something | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples My googling produced the answer below:
welcome to / join the club. The following, from The Leeds Mercury (Yorkshire) of 30th August 1911, evokes this mechanism: PAPER PENNIES. oh. I’m slightly too young to have made phone calls when buttons A and B were around, but this sounds about right.
: It's funny. The Oxford English Dictionary states that this phrase originated by way of allusion to the mechanism of penny-in-the-slot machines. In addition to the OED cites, this Google Ngram Viewer chart suggests the phrase is indeed of British origin.
If the " penny has dropped " it means someone has finally realised the situation they are in after possibly being unaware of it for a long time, depending on the situation. More like ‘Well, duh’. Given the first recorded date of 1939 the telephone kiosk seems a more likely source. And best of all it's ad free, so sign up now and start using at home or in the classroom. The mechanical nature of such a device meant that the anticipated ‘penny’ did not always ‘drop’ but could get stuck in the mechanism: similar to a thought process. The ‘penny’ in the pay phone would be a returned coin(s) and I vaguely recall pennies given as change in cigarette machines. Today, 9 October, is the penultimate day of this year’s World Space Week, a UN event launched in 1999. The ‘penny’ is not free falling through air but clunking its way down an imagined mechanical device before arriving at its expected destination, the out tray. I’m not sure if it is strictly a regionalism, but in Eastern Massachusetts one sometimes hears the phrase: “light dawned on Marblehead,” which has the same meaning as “the penny dropped.”
“The penny drops.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20penny%20drops. Space Week falls at this calendar juncture because this first October week is bookended by two key dates.
It was originally used with allusion to the mechanism of a penny-in-the-slot machine. The penny dropped is an idiom that describes the instant when someone has an epiphany, the instant when confusion clears and a person understands something. '—'I think so. ==> The phrase dates back to the Victorian Era and the popular penny-slot arcades. So even before 1925 the penny had to drop.
Space Week falls at this calendar juncture because this first October week is bookended by two key dates. My understanding was that the ‘penny’ didn’t silently ‘drop’ into the collection hopper of a slot machine but was change due, announcing its presence with a defining metallic ding as it hit the coin out tray. A feature of note to North American readers is the size of the coin in question. Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way. The full phrase used there was, as closely as i recall, “Eventually the penny dropped and the mechanism emitted a faint creaking sound,” which suggests an arcade device. The verb drop may be conjugated through all its forms. It took me a while to get the hang of it!
‘The nights are fair drawing in’ is a trope about the weather that applies powerfully as you read this. From moonshoot to balconing: discover the latest words added to the Collins Dictionary. I digress. (Oh and btw, the scary thing is that I can remember when we did put a penny in the doors of public and large dept store toilets - yikes!!!). From moonshoot to balconing: discover the latest words added to the Collins Dictionary. I have always understood this to refer to old telephone systems with A and B buttons. A lot of those I've found here on this web site have their equivalent in German, but we actually don't use them very often. : : : ORIGIN: : : May have originated as a reference to the use of coin (penny) operated slots on the locks or public toilets. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Originally used with allusion to the mechanism of a penny-in-the-slot machine.”, …paratedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2006/06/reckon…, A gem of a hiking trail, hidden in plain sight. If the penny drops, you suddenly understand something: 2. Marblehead is shore-side town north of Boston. The phrase was coined in the 1930s in the British publication of The Daily Mirror. [ mainly British , informal ] 'Did he know who you are? My guess is that young UK citizens today have lost those pronunciations.
It's only recently the penny's begun to drop that, actually, the new job is probably better than the other one. The OED's earliest citation of a use of the phrase, in Nigel Balchin's novel A Way through Wood, 1951: "I sat and thought for a moment and then the penny dropped." The OED defines this useful phrase as meaning “a situation or statement has at last been understood; a person has reacted belatedly” and notes, “Originally used with allusion to the mechanism of a penny-in-the-slot machine.” The first citation is from The Daily Mirror in 1939; all the later cites are British as well. (Unfortunately, and in contrast to a vending machine, a good slap on the head doesn't help too much in case the penny's stuck.).
‘The penny dropped’ implies that something you were too thick to work out before suddenly becomes clear. If you got the wrong party, you would instead press Button B, and your coin would be returned so you could try again. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!
That would have been pronounced tuppeny-haypenny, but I bet young Brits today might not know this. Today, 9 October, is the penultimate day of this year’s World Space Week, a UN event launched in 1999.
And best of all it's ad free, so sign up now and start using at home or in the classroom. The OED's earliest citation of a use of the phrase with the 'now I understand' meaning, is from The Daily Mirror August 1939: And then the penny dropped, and I saw his meaning! Clearly, pennies have to drop or the puzzle doesn’t get solved. If the penny drops, you suddenly….
All the latest wordy news, linguistic insights, offers and competitions every month. The OED's earliest citation of a use of the phrase, in Nigel Balchin's novel A Way through Wood, 1951: "I sat and thought for a moment and then the penny dropped." The “penny finally dropped” is less a ‘light bulb’ or ‘eureka’ moment, more a ‘Road to Damascus’ type realization. Learn more. When the penny dropped here, all was revealed!