Title: Old money, new money...

Author: Bob Schmidt

Date: 04 November 2017 16:38:24 +00:00 or Sat, 04 November 2017 16:38:24 +00:00

Summary: Alison Peck looks at the origins of ‘two pence worth’.

Body: 

I can still hear adults in my local area, in an exasperated tone of voice after finally losing patience with children ‘butting in’, saying, “You just had to add your tupp’orth, didn’t you?” I hadn’t thought about the phrase for a long time – not until we did the first in this (very occasional) series back in 2012 – and it set me thinking. What exactly does it mean?

Basically, it has to do with money. Pre-decimal British money, to be precise. As now, you could get a penny coin and a two-penny coin. (As an aside, the names of the coins then sounded much more interesting than now to my ears – half-a-crown, a sixpence, a thrupenny bit… and don’t get me started on guineas!)

Almost instinctively, I equated tuppence (two pennies) to ‘a small amount’, but one still worth counting. I can (vaguely) remember going to the corner shop to buy tuppence – or sometimes thruppence (three pennies) – worth of sweets with my pocket money, which was a threepenny (pronounced ‘thrup’ny’) bit. I stress I was very young at the time! ☺

But am I right? After a bit of research online, the answer is, probably. Most of the sources indicate that there are very similar phrases in most of the English-speaking world, with variations to account for currency differences. For example, Wikipedia suggests that ‘My 2¢’ was first used in print in March 1926 [1] as the title of a newspaper article in the USA.

The current usage is more to do with self-deprecation before joining in a discussion, or immediately before or after offering an opinion. However, this is starting to remove the ‘but still worth counting’ part of my own understanding, and concentrating on the (potential) low worth.

Explanations for the origins of the phrase fit well with my British upbringing and my personal understanding of its meaning. First, ‘A penny for your thoughts’ is another familiar phrase – offering to pay a penny (a token amount) but being given twice as much (tuppence worth) suggests you got more than you were expecting, and maybe more than you wanted in return. [2] Secondly, it seems that the phrase started to be used in the UK in the middle of the 19th Century, and there is a suggested link with the standard cost of sending a letter: tuppence. When I get 5 minutes, I may investigate further…

Oh, and if you’re interested in the English language – its history and evolution, its spelling and its regional variations – I suggest you read some of David Crystal’s excellent books on a fascinating subject. [3]

References

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_two_cents

[2] https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put+in+my+tuppence+worth

[3] http://www.davidcrystal.com/biography

Notes: 

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