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 ...