a. and sb. Forms: see TWO and PENNY; also 9 tuppenny; Sc. 8 tippony, tippanny, 8–9 tippenny, tippeny, 9 tip’ny.
A. adj. 1. Of the value of, amounting to, or costing twopence.
Twopenny faith, the name by which Archbishop Hamilton’s tract, Ane Godlie Exhortatioun, etc., published in 1559, was popularly known in Scotland.
1532. Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot., VI. 156. Item, for vj scoir tuapenny breid … xx s.
1558–9. Knox, Hist. Ref., I. Wks. (1846), I. 291. The Bischoppis … sett furth somewhat in print, which of the People was called ‘The Twa-penny Fayth.’
1589. Nashe, Anat. Absurditie, 17. The sum of their diuinitie consists in twopennie Catichismes.
1603. H. Crosse, Vertues Commw. (1878), 116. For a two-penny almes he may be throughly taught and made a perfect good scholler.
1625. Massinger, New Way, III. ii. Even starv’d for want of two-penny chops.
1705. Lond. Gaz., No. 4107/4. A Sable Tippet, with a black Two-peny Ribbon.
1825. Jefferson, Autobiog., Wks. 1859, I. 106. A two-penny duty on tea.
1852. Thackeray, Esmond, I. ii. His nephew slunk by … to his twopenny ordinary.
1873. Ruskin, Fors Clav. (1896), II. xxxviii. 295. People will eat twopenny herrings … when they wouldn’t touch half-penny ones.
1907. Westm. Gaz., 11 Nov., 8/2. The same firm was authorised by George III to manufacture penny and twopenny pieces.
b. Involving an outlay of twopence; for the use of or admission to which there is a charge of twopence.
Twopenny tube, a popular name for the Central London Railway (see TUBE sb. 7 b), on which the fare was originally twopence for any distance.
1599. Contract building Globe Theatre, in Henslowe Papers (1907), 6. The gentlemens roomes and Twoepennie roomes.
1601. B. Jonson, Poetaster, V. i. In taverns, two-penny rooms, tyring houses.
1765. Chron., in Ann. Reg., 70/1. Letting out two-penny lodgings.
1768. Tucker, Lt. Nat. (1834), I. 41. He … sits among his fellow topers at the two-penny club.
1814. J. Boswell, in Songs Justiciary Opera (1816), 9. Mine’s a penny shows tippeny eatin house.
1831. D. E. Williams, Life & Corr. Sir T. Lawrence, II. 23. Sources of petty gains—mere twopenny shows.
1900. [see TUBE sb. 7 b].
1903. ‘Angus McNeill’ (T. W. H. Crosland), Egregious English, xxi. 199. They saw Peter Robinson’s and the tuppenny tube.
c. Twopenny ale (or beer), a quality of ale originally sold at twopence per quart; in Scotland, at twopence a Scotch pint (= 3 imperial pints).
1710. Lond. Gaz., No. 4668/1. Every Barrel of Twopenny Ale.
1798. W. Hutton, Autobiog., 6. My father treated us with a quart of twopenny beer.
1819. Scott, Leg. Montrose, iv. A huge barrel of twopenny ale.
d. Twopenny post: the London post (1801–39) for conveyance of letters, etc., at an ordinary charge of twopence each. Also attrib., as twopenny postman, etc.
1797–8. Jane Austen, Sense & Sens., xxvi. Marianne … requested the footman … to get that letter conveyed … to the two-penny post.
1838. Dickens, O. Twist, xxix. To make an appointment by the twopenny post.
1887. T. A. Trollope, What I remember, I. ii. 44. The twopenny post was considered an immense boon to Londoners.
1812. L. Hunt, in Examiner, 25 May, 321/1. The two-penny postmen should ride about upon elephants.
1813. Moore (title), Intercepted Letters; or, The Twopenny Post-Bag.
1830. Parl. Papers, XIII. 46. The twopenny-post riders convey greater weights than the general-post riders.
e. Of iron: Costing twopence per pound.
1858. Greener, Gunnery, 239. Making Double and Single Guns, with ‘Twopenny’ or ‘Wedgebury Skelp Iron.’
2. fig. as a disparaging epithet: Of very little value; paltry, trumpery, trifling, worthless.
1560. Jewel, Corr. Cole, I iv. To make the people thinke that we reade nothyng els but ij. penny doctoures, as ye cal them.
1643. S. Marshall, Lett., 5. Even in a two-peny matter.
1739. Cibber, Apol. (1756), I. 243. Twopenny criticks must live as well as eighteenpenny authors.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, lxi. This woman, with her twopenny gentility.
† 3. Twopenny grass, Herb twopence (see prec. 5).
1548, 1597. [see TWOPENCE 5].
1578. Lyte, Dodoens, I. liv. 78. This herbe is now called … in English … two penny grasse.
† 4. Applied to a ward in a prison. (The allusion is obscure.) Obs. rare–1.
1605. Chapman, etc., Eastward Hoe, V. i. G iv b. I never knew … Prisoners … more deuout. They will sit you vp all night singing of Psalmes,… onely, Securitie sings a note too high, sometimes, because hee lyes i’ the Two-penny ward, farre off, and cannot take his tune.
B. sb. (ellipt. use of the adj.)
1. Short for twopenny ale: see 1 c above.
1711. Ramsay, On Maggy Johnstoun, i. To braw tippony bid adieu.
1729. Dulcinead, 5, note. The Old Swan in the Butcher-Row, noted for good Twopenny.
1762. Bp. Forbes, Jrnl. (1886), 181. To drink Tippanny and Whiskie.
1815. Scott, Guy M., vi. The gossip over the good twopenny in every alehouse.
1858. M. Porteous, Souter Johnny, 13. To appease their ‘lowin’ drouth’ either with the Smith’s ‘tippeny’ or the Landlord’s ‘strong drink.’
2. A twopenny piece (= TWOPENCE 2), or the sum of twopence.
1736. Drake, Eboracum, I. vi. 189. Pennyes or two pennyes, halfpennyes or farthings.
3. A jocular name for a child.
1844. Mary Howitt, My Own Story, viii. ‘Well, little Twopenny.’… I … did not like to be called ‘little Twopenny.’
So Twopenny-halfpenny a., of the value of twopence-halfpenny; usually fig. as an epithet of disparagement (cf. A. 2 above).
1809. Southey, in Robberds, Mem. W. Taylor (1843), II. 268. Some little dirty twopenny-halfpenny piece of roguery.
1827. Lytton, Pelham, II. xii. He … filched a twopenny-halfpenny gilt-chain out of … the pawnbroker’s window.
1872. H. Kingsley, Hornby Mills, I. 30. They had lost a law-suit, a twopenny-halfpenny squabble about a trespass.
Mod. A twopenny-halfpenny stamp.
