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pen.ny5pen7in [C]pl pence or p or pennies the smallest unit of money in Britain of which there are 100 in a POUND, or a small coin worth this much (Br) You use 'pence'or, more informally, 'p'when you are speaking of the unit of money and 'pennies'when you are speaking of the coins themselves. 便士Could you lend me 50 pence/50p please?你能借给我50便士吗?I found a ten/twenty/fifty pence piece (= a coin of this value) in the phone booth.我在电话亭发现一枚10 /20 /50 便士的硬币。I keep pennies and other small coins in a jar.我把便士和其他小硬币放在一个坛子里。In the US and Canada, a penny is a CENT or a coin of this value.美国和加拿大的一分In Britain before 1971, a penny or old penny was a large coin. There were twelve pennies in a SHILLING.英国1971年前使用的大硬币，12便士等于1先令In many phrases, penny is used when speaking of the smallest amount of money possible.一分一厘Buy a TV now and it won't cost you a penny for 3 months.现在买一台电视，所花的钱三个月每天也不值一分钱。It was an expensive meal but worth every penny.这顿饭很贵，但每分钱都值。(Br infml) If you say that the penny (has) dropped, you mean that you or someone else suddenly understands or becomes aware of something that you or they did not know about before.最后明白了She looked confused for a moment, then suddenly the penny dropped and she burst out laughing.她一开始看起来有些糊涂，突然恍然大悟，笑了起来。It took a long time for the penny to drop.花了很长时间才搞明白。You say a penny for your thoughts or a penny for them when you want to know what another person is thinking, usually because they have been quiet for a while.想知道他人的想法If someone doesn't have a penny to their name or doesn't have two pennies to rub together, they are very poor.不名一文，穷得叮当响If someone is described as penny-wise and pound-foolish, they are thought to be too careful about very small amounts of money and not able to consider larger, more important matters.小事精明大事糊涂(Br infml) If you describe something as two/ten a penny (Am a dime a dozen), you mean that there is a lot of that thing and so it is not special or worth very much.不值钱的东西Antique toy cars are ten a penny nowadays.现在老汽车玩具很不值钱。(Am) If something is described as penny-ante it is unimportant or not worth doing.无关紧要的事，琐事He wanted us to get involved in some penny-ante deals.他想要我们参与一些无关紧要的事情。A penny-farthing is a type of bicycle used in the past which had a very large front wheel and a small back wheel.前轮大后轮小的老式自行车Penny-pinching is avoiding spending even the smallest amounts of money.吝啬Local residents have accused the council of penny-pinching.当地居民控告市政委员会吝啬。I became tired of his penny-pinching friends.我厌倦了他那些吝啬鬼朋友。A penny whistle is a small cheap musical instrument shaped like a tube with holes along one side and a part for your mouth at one end that you blow into.小哨子(Br saying) 'In for a penny, in for a pound'means that since you have started something or are involved in it, you should complete the work although it has become more difficult or complicated than you had expected.一不做二不休(Br saying) 'Take care of/Look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of/look after themselves'means that if you do not waste small amounts of money, you will succeed in saving large amounts of money in the future.积少便可成多, 小事谨慎而大事自成"Pennies from Heaven" (title of a song written by Johnny Burke, 1936)《意外的收获》（约翰尼·伯克写得一首歌的歌名）
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