Meaning of “A Pretty Penny”
This phrase is an English idiom, which means a considerable or a large amount of money. Whenever a thing costs a lot of money, this idiom is apt to use. The word ‘pretty’ is an adjective. It means ‘attractive or beautiful’. However, the word pretty was initially used as an adverb in the 16th century. Hence, here, it is used as ‘significant’ or ‘enough’.
Origin of “A Pretty Penny”
In the past, this phrase was used with variants such as “a fine penny” or “a fair penny.” It is said that all the forms of this phrase were used in English in the 18th century. The frequent usage of this phrase has been seen in many printed works of the 19th century.
Susanna Centlivre was the most popular playwright of the 18th century used this phrase in one of her comedies, The Man’s Bewitch’d. It was probably written in or around 1710. The phrase was used as “a pretty penny.”
Frederick Pilon also used this phrase in a fake, The Deaf Lover, written in 1780. It appears as “a pretty penny” in this work.
Mary Anne Evans, who used the pen name, George Eliot used this phrase in one of her famous novels, The Mill of the Floss. It was published in 1860 as “That watered-silk she had on cost a pretty penny.”
Since then, it has been continuously in use in the same words.
Examples in Literature
Example #1
Pretty Penny sung by Stone Temple Pilots
“Have you seen your mother girl?
Has she gone away?
Gone away and found the pearl
But the price she paidGone, when you wake in the morning
Gone, when you find that there’s no one sleeping
Gone, pretty Penny was her name
She was loved and we all will miss herHow far will you go I say, just to bait a mouse?
Shorter lived and longer gone
Can you figure out?Gone, when you wake in the morning
Gone, when you find that there’s no one sleeping
Gone, pretty Penny was her name
She was loved and we all will miss herHave you lost your sister girl?
She’s all but blown away
Blown away and lost the pearl
And the price she paidGone, when you wake in the morning
Gone, when you find that there’s no one sleeping
Gone, pretty Penny was her name
She was loved and we all will miss her”
This song’s title “Pretty Penny” is used to show the theme of helplessness and loneliness. It tells a made-up story of mother and daughter who were drug addicts. This phrase has been used as a refrain of the song. “Pretty Penny” is about the lead vocalist of the band, Scott Weiland. Though he was an addict, he struggled to hide his addiction from the public. Also, he wrote the song in the third person as an allegory.
Example #2
Pretty Penny by Gyeongwon Kwak
Gyeongwon Kwak is a South Korean Canadian writer and “Pretty Penny” is her first book. This book tells the stories of seven different people who suffer from anxiety. They all are worried about their future. Their situation seems as if all the wishes they ask from the magical lamp have not been fulfilled. Meanwhile, a young stranger girl visits these miserable seven, and they discuss their worries with her. She calms them by telling about the fourth wish, which is hope. Her gentle guidance helps each one of them to move forward, being hopeful about the future. Hence, the title of the book, Pretty Penny is used as a metaphor of hope and a bright future.
Example #3
One From One Leaves Two by Ogden Nash
“Higgledy piggledy, my black hen,
She lays eggs for gentlemen.
Gentlemen come every day
To count what my black hen doth lay.
If perchance she lays too many,
They fine my hen a pretty penny;
If perchance she fails to lay,
The gentlemen a bonus pay…”
This is the first stanza from the poem by Ogden Nash. The poem is about tax-collection. Ironically, the tax system has been explained with different funny characterization. Here the phrase “pretty penny” has been used to describe the heavy amount of tax paid if the hen lays too many eggs. Nash concludes this poem on a satirical note that the more one produces, the less one earns.
Examples in Sentences
Example #1: “To earn a pretty penny is a remarkable achievement for her; it costs her hard work, sweat, failure, rejection, and distress but it has now become a source of enjoyment.”
Example#2: “A saved pretty penny is equally precious as a bar of gold.”
Example#3: “Poor Mathilda calls her hen a pretty penny because it lays an egg daily. Which helps her to earn money by selling eggs.”
Example#4: “Over the years, she has made a pretty penny and has been showing the people the perks of being rich but her poor soul could not bear the weight of loneliness.”
Example #5: “All designer goods cost pretty penny. However, the cost to make them is mostly lesser than 5% of the value of the goods.”