Bad Penny
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rebecca:
August 8th, 2011 at 11:25 am
I love this type of information – how lovely it is available on the internet. “Why we say it” – a favorite book – doesn’t have everything!
Badpennypress:
March 5th, 2012 at 5:55 am
It is like you’re a cashier trying both not to take excesse Canada’s quarters and trying to get rid of canadian quarters out of your drawer that customers passed off as many as they can in the us. They are used interchangeably but are not usually worth exactly the same.
so they keep coming back
lake canadian quarters
David Sowd:
October 30th, 2012 at 10:01 am
What a wonderful, thorough explanation. I agree with Rebecca — you’re doing great work with this site!
Wndndrsn:
December 9th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
Sayings from my past I rarely hear.
Isasater:
March 17th, 2013 at 10:23 pm
Dear Word Detective,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the time, energy and obvious enthusiasum you put into this site. I could spend hours and hours reading and enjoying your work.
Again, thank you, thank you thank you.
Dominic:
June 29th, 2013 at 2:21 pm
That’s a great explanation. I just heard the expression used on the TV show Frisky Dingo. That show, and another show called Archer, both have really great idiom.
Carol:
July 15th, 2013 at 6:59 pm
Often heard in my growing-up years. British imperial currency was used in New Zealand before changing to metric dollars and cents, when the proverbial penny had many a last chance. It was too big for use as counters in BINGO games.
Carol:
July 15th, 2013 at 8:08 pm
Change over day was 10th of July 1967. Then just another beaten out ‘bent penny’, would no longer fit the slot. Even for a phone call!
What's up with this site using the BHW name?:
July 16th, 2013 at 1:02 am
[…] is "shoemoney". Bad penny is old school for someone that keeps showing up unwelcome. http://www.word-detective.com/2010/03/bad-penny/ Here is about the last time I heard of Shoemoney; when he thought he was bad-ass and was going to […]
adele:
October 22nd, 2013 at 12:16 pm
Will Smith just used the term “bad penny” in Hitch which brought me to this informative site. Thank you! I have heard the expression and just read your detailed explanation to my 25 year old daughter who had never heard “bad penny”. Very very interesting!
Kuntina:
November 7th, 2013 at 6:16 pm
I always wondered. Thanks.
Echo:
January 26th, 2014 at 2:35 pm
i’m 59 and have heard this expression all my life and really never gave it a thought. but today the thought popped into my head,”Hmmm? I wonder where that came from/started out?”
thank you so much for your explanation! i don’t imagine that tracking down the origin of something like this is easy? so thank you again for not only digging this up but also for sharing it!
Balancing Your Work/Life Balance | Enroll In Your Life:
February 16th, 2014 at 7:37 pm
[…] back to normal. But those long, busy days will return. They always do. Like a bad penny (whatever that means). And when they do, I need to remember that my job is not my life. It’s a part of it, and an […]
brian marsom:
April 9th, 2014 at 6:43 pm
Thankyou- WD- I agree with previous replies- you are an inspiration and that dearly is passed on-
Your comments will help with my research for a short story competition- The story is based on a real character who used to tell us boys in the Wesley Boys Home in Mt. Albert, Auckland NZ-a story about The Bad Penny.
Just wish I could remeber the stories but will daydream on it- Tten get on with the task- Thanks mate.
regards BRIAN
Like a Bad Penny… | Sued51's Blog:
August 18th, 2014 at 7:19 am
[…] know what they say about a “bad penny”? You don’t? I had to look it up as I was writing this. Not sure it fits exactly, because it is not turning up multiple times, unwanted…but this […]
Mike B:
February 23rd, 2015 at 4:31 pm
People can be looked at as “bad pennies.” A trouble makers, does inappropriate things or behaviors.
Thomas Moore Todaro:
March 16th, 2015 at 9:51 am
I’m 52 and have been using this phrase literally for decades. But, it’s really funny for me (inside joke) because I am an avid collector of old U.S. error coins, particularly old pennies. So, the phrase really does roll outta my mouth several times a month. LOL!!!
R Den Green:
March 24th, 2015 at 1:11 pm
Thank you, Mr. Morris/TWD, for this marvelous website and information. It certainly enriches our lives to know the history of the words, idioms, and colloquialisms we use.
Kevin:
June 15th, 2015 at 1:11 pm
Dear Word Detective,
I had heard the term ‘a bad penny always comes back,’ or ‘a bad penny always turns up,’ many times and had often wondered where the term ‘bad penny’ came from. Many thanks for your incredible answer. I have bookmarked this brilliant website. Thank you!
Marie:
June 22nd, 2015 at 8:58 pm
Thank you, I can now answer my mother and my daughter about this one! I thought it might have something to do with dead bodies and the coins on the eyes to hold the lids down in the old days…. I’m not morbid…. I’m just say’ in. Thanks again!
Daniel Dunham:
July 31st, 2016 at 12:40 pm
Enjoy watching Father Brown mysteries on PBS. The police often refer to Father Brown as a bad penny because he turns up in the middle of their investigations.
Alarec:
October 7th, 2016 at 4:41 am
Dear author,
The term ‘penny’ has clear etymological origins, as noted here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny#Name),
here (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penny),
and here (http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=penny&allowed_in_frame=0).
If you want to not look like a fool, try doing at least a little research for your writings before posting. I found these in less than a minute.
If you ever get this, please keep this advice in mind for future writings. I couldn’t care less if you don’t approve my comment.
leslie:
December 10th, 2016 at 9:00 pm
I wanted to add, though of course I haven’t got a shred of evidence for this – other than that the antique expressions often have two or three curiously intersecting origins, but I had always thought that the counterfeit Penny, when tossed in the air, always landed on the face side of the coin, due to it containing more metal on that side,whereas an authentic penny would be 50/50 and thus was one way of determining authenticity.
Bill:
May 30th, 2018 at 11:38 pm
I used the term naturally after showing up several times at an executive secretary’s office. Then wondered why it jumped out of my mind at the time and weather it meant what I intended. Thank you, it did. Damn I’m smart……b
Pippa Gill:
September 24th, 2019 at 1:16 am
‘Turns up’ means, lands face up. So the bad (ie counterfeit) penny, is one that has been weighted so that it always lands face up. Thus the cheat wins each toss.