“A penny for your thoughts” is an English idiom used to ask for someone’s opinion or to check on their well-being. It originated in the Middle Ages and was first recorded in written form by John Heywood. The phrase is not meant literally, but as a symbolic gesture of interest. Another similar expression is “your two cents.”
The saying “a penny for your thoughts” is an English idiom that simply asks people to volunteer their opinions on an issue under discussion. While no payments actually change hands, the phrase has become a regular part of the English vernacular. In modern usage, it is often referred to as an indirect way of asking what someone is thinking or what is bothering them. Its origins are quite unknown although it dates back to at least the end of the Middle Ages.
Meaning
This sentence is basically a proposition and the speaker is offering to pay to hear the listener’s thoughts. It’s an idiom, of course, and it’s not meant literally, so there’s typically no actual payment taking place. The idea, however, is that the person saying “a penny for your thoughts” wants to know what the listener is thinking and shows interest through a token offer of payment. It is also commonly used when someone seems to be deep in thought about him or upset by an idea, as a polite way to give the person an opportunity to express their ideas or concerns.
Value
When the saying was born, a penny was worth far more than it is worth in the 21st century. Thus, a “penny for your thoughts” probably indicated that thoughts were more valuable to those who begged the listener for them than they are by today’s standards. The phrase is usually intended as a symbolic gesture and the actual value should generally not be considered. This disempowerment can be used derisively, however, often implied by the tone of voice; someone may use these phrases sarcastically to indicate that someone’s idea is bad or worth a penny in terms of modern value.
First recorded use
A “penny for your thoughts” is a phrase generally attributed to a man named John Heywood, who was born shortly before the 16th century. During his lifetime, he was a writer who wrote many plays and a book in the 16th century known as A Dialogue Containing the Name of Indeed All Proverbs in the English Language. As English spelling has changed over the years, subsequent publications have often been abbreviated to The Proverbs of John Heywood.
Chances are Heywood didn’t actually invent the phrase “a penny for your thoughts.” Rather, he was simply the first person, or the first person found so far, to have recorded the phrase in written form. The actual origins of the term are unknown, and since his book was simply a collection of proverbs and common expressions, he was probably familiar to people in the mid-1500s.
Similar expressions
Another phrase similar to “a penny for your thoughts” is to offer “your two cents” after making a statement. Someone might give his opinion and then say “that’s my two cents,” to indicate the value of his idea. While, just like a cent, “two cents” is of relatively low value now, it would have been more valuable at one time, and the expression is used in much the same way.
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