the penny dropped
now I suddenly understand
TRANSLATION
the penny dropped = der Groschen ist gefallen, der Knoten ist geplatzt, Jdm. ist ein Licht aufgegangen
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
“Shortly after my son was born, THE PENNY DROPPED that in all probability, I would one day be some girl’s mother-in-law. What a sobering thought that a nice girl somewhere would think of me in the same way I think of my mother-in-law. It’s not that I don’t like her; she’s just - well, difficult.”
Susan Wohlgemuth - The Sunday Herald
Did you
know?
the penny dropped
idiomatic phrase
- when someone has finally realised something
- used to say that someone finally understands something after not understanding it for a time
Compact Oxford Dictionary / Merriam-Webster
—
ORIGIN
Many years ago stores sold candy for a penny. This is where the term “penny candy” comes from; small pieces of sugar candy like peppermints. There was also a time when candy machines accepted pennies. And this is where the expression “the penny dropped” originated.
The idea comes from the delay from the time the penny is inserted in the slot until the candy drops out of the machine.
Now the penny dropped describes the delay and sudden realisation that sometimes occurs when we don’t immediately understand something, but then some time later it becomes readily apparent. It’s one of those “slap on the forehead” moments that we all experience.
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PENNY IDIOMS
“Pennies feature strongly in the list of English expressions that were coined in the days when Britain used what is now known as ‘old pennies’. The new pennies that were introduced with decimalisation of the currency in 1971 haven’t caught the public imagination” (Gary Martin)
Here are seven phrases that came into English back in the day and are still in common use:
- a pretty penny = eine (schöne) Stange Geld
- spend a penny = aufs Klo gehen
- a bad penny = ein schlechter Mensch
- penny-pinching = geizig, Pfennigfuchserei
- in for a penny, in for a pound (proverb) = Wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen
- penny-wise and pound-foolish (proverb) = sparsam im Kleinen und doch verschwenderisch
- “a penny for your thoughts” = “Ich würd’ zu gern wissen, was du gerade denkst”
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SYNONYMS
it suddenly: dawned on me / the lights came on / went click / occurred to me / struck me / hit me like a bolt of lightning, I had an epiphany
—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:
“I was confused by their puzzled expressions, then finally THE PENNY DROPPED, my microphone was on mute!”
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and,
Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40
