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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

penny for your thoughts en · X

Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɛn.i fɚ jɚ ˈθɑts/ (US)
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈpɛn.i fɔɹ jʊɹ ˈθɔts/ (US)
  • (Australia) audio
  • /ˈpɛn.i fɔɹ jʊɹ ˈθɑts/ (US)
  • /ˈpɛn.i fəː jəː ˈθɔːts/ (UK)
  • /ˈpɛn.i fɔː jɔː ˈθɔːts/ (UK)

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) Used to inquire into the thoughts and feelings of another, especially when the person appears pensive or conflicted.
    • One day, as your ladyship was playing on the harpsichord to my master, Mr Jones was sitting in the next room, and methought he looked melancholy. La! says I, Mr Jones, what's the matter? a penny for your thoughts, says I. 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter XIV, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book IV, page 106:
    • As for Harry, he sate in very deep meditation over the scene; and when Mrs. Lambert offered him a penny for his thoughts, he said, “That he thought, Young Norval, Douglas, What-d'ye-call-'em, the fellow in white satin—who looked as old as his mother—was very lucky to be able to distinguish himself so soon. 1857–1859, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter LIX, in The Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1858–1859, →OCLC:
    • The penny-post is, commonly, an institution through which you seriously offer a man that penny for his thoughts which is so often safely offered in jest. 1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC:
    • Is there any thing else to say? My cry upon firing will be, “A penny for your thoughts.” [1973, Arthur Bremer, An Assassin's Diary, Harper's Magazine Press, →ISBN, page 141:
    • And she said to Gerty: —A penny for your thoughts. —What? replied Gerty with a smile reinforced by the whitest of teeth. 1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[13]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC:
    • “A penny for your thoughts,” said Miss Wilkinson, looking at him with a smile. “I’m not going to tell you,” he answered. He was thinking that he ought to kiss her there and then. 1915, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XXXIII, in Of Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC:

Relateds

for what it's worth · two pennies' worth

Translations (5)

sv ett öre för dina tankar (inquiry into the thoughts) · fi penni ajatuksistasi (inquiry into the thoughts) · hu min jár az eszed? (inquiry into the thoughts) · pl grosik za twoje myśli (inquiry into the thoughts) · hu mi jár a fejedben? (inquiry into the thoughts)