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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
I suspect there will be some defec(a)tion from the ranks.
TEd
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
Could it be so simple as the act of paying out one's last penny, the one found in the ashes in the fireplace?
Which may also be the origin of the Irish expression "he/she/it turned up like a black penny". But Google couldn't really help with that one, either.
We should also not forget that our grandparents weren't always 100% accurate in their use of expressions, any more than we are. Some of what we have heard at their knee may well be, um, plain wrong.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
Speaking of the alteration of expressions, around here, the phrase is usually "turn up like a bad penny."
I always wondered at the origin of the expression, and now I'm speculating that it is an ironical alteration of the black penny reference.
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
I think bad penny more likely has reference to the tendency of getting back in change the counterfeit penny you passed last week.
TEd
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
Which reminds me of Sam, the English counterfeiter who had a long career making small change, figuring no one would pay much attention to his larcenous efforts. Whe he was finally nabbed by Scotland Yard, he asked what had given him away. The detective merely went away whistling, "Sam, you made the pence too long."
TEd
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
Honi soit qui mal y pence.
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