penny for your thoughts

Language: en

Meaning: (idiomatic)Used to inquire into thethoughtsandfeelingsof another, especially when the person appearspensiveorconflicted.1749,Henry Fielding, chapter XIV, inThe History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London:A[ndrew]Millar,[…],→OCLC, book IV,page106: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? apenny for your thoughts, says I.1857–1859,W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter LIX, inThe Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volume(please specify |volume=I or II), London:Bradbury & Evans,[…], published1858–1859,→OCLC:As for Harry, he sate in very deep meditation over the scene; and when Mrs. Lambert offered him apenny 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.1922February,James Joyce, “[13]”, inUlysses, Paris:Shakespeare and Company,[…],→OCLC:And she said to Gerty:—Apenny for your thoughts.—What? replied Gerty with a smile reinforced by the whitest of teeth.1854August 9,Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”, inWalden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.:Ticknor and Fields,→OCLC:The penny-post is, commonly, an institution through which you seriously offer a man thatpenny for his thoughtswhich is so often safely offered in jest.1915,W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XXXIII, inOf Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.:George H[enry] Doran Company,→OCLC:“Apenny 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.[1973,Arthur Bremer,An Assassin's Diary, Harper's Magazine Press,→ISBN,page141:Is there any thing else to say? My cry upon firing will be, “A penny for your thoughts.”]

Validation Count: 0

Sourced from Wiktionary