benny

See also: Benny

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛni

Etymology 1

ben(zedrine) +‎ -y

Noun

benny (plural bennies)

1. (slang, usually in the plural) An amphetamine tablet.

   Coordinate term: dexy

   • 1957, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC:

     That night Marylou took everything in the books; she took tea, goofballs, benny, liquor, and even asked Old Bull for a shot of M, which of course he didn’t give her; he did give her a martini.

   • 1973, “Sport”, in Hustler's Convention, performed by Lightnin' Rod:

     I've pitched pennies and downed bennies

   • 1998, Jeffery Deaver, The Coffin Dancer, New York, NY: Pocket Books, published 2021, →ISBN, page 285:

     “Whatchu got, man?” / “Reds, bennies, dexies, yellow jackets, demmies.” / “Yeah, demmies're good shit, man. I pay you. Fuck. I got money. I'm hurting inside. Got beat up. Where my money?”

Verb

benny (third-person singular simple present bennies, present participle bennying, simple past and past participle bennied)

1. (slang, usually with "up") To take amphetamines.
   • 1963, Joe Grosscup, Fourth and One: By Lee Grosscup, page 268:

     Bulldog's habit of "bennying up" for the ball games had become a humorous item among the players.

   • 1980, Commercial motor carrier safety: hearing before the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation:

     He had been on the road that long and so bennied up.

   • 2003, Jack Cady, Ghosts of Yesterday, →ISBN, page 104:

     "If you guys got any brains," the tired and bennied driver said, "you'll keep your sweet fannies t'hell out of it.

Etymology 2

From Benny.

Noun

benny (plural bennies)

1. (UK, slang) Alternative letter-case form of Benny (“tantrum”)
   • 2001, Neil Davey, “Sacked Referees”, in alt.games.champ-man (Usenet):

     BTW, you might like to see what happens to CM00-01 when one of your sticks of memory decides to have a benny:

   • 2010, Ian Sansom, The Bad Book Affair:

     'Like I told the police, I think she's just having a benny.'

   • 2011, Kate Morgan, Wicked Games, page 34:

     "Stop having a benny, Liam." Gwen was getting agitated. Liam was failing miserably at his attempts to get Casey to back down.

2. (US, slang) Alternative letter-case form of Benny (“one-hundred-dollar bill”)

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of benefit.

Alternative forms

• bennie

Noun

benny (plural bennies)

1. (informal) A benefit.
   • 1984, Charles Robert Anderson, The Grunts, Berkley Books, →ISBN, page xviii:

     Life in the bush was generally a bummer, an adverse experience, which was only rarely broken by the bennies, benefits like warm beer and letters from the World, the United States.

   • 2001, Scott Edwards, Programming and Customizing the Basic Stamp Computer‎^[1], page 158:

     A benny of using an older modem is that it usually includes a good manual on the AT command set.

   • 2004, Mary Foley, Bodac!ous woman: outrageously in charge of your life and lovin' it!‎^[2], page 100:

     A "benny" of being curious and continuing to learn and grow is that you […]

   • 2000, Approach‎^[3], volume 45, number 5, page 22:

     After depositing the larger items at the post office for the free ride home (a benny of being overseas: free mail), we headed back to the plane.

Etymology 4

Unknown or disputed. Attested from the late 19th century. Possibly from benjamin, slang from the early 19th century for a type of greatcoat. Possibly in reference to Uncle Benny or Uncle Ben (“a pawnbroker”), who might accept coats during the warm summer months, though the latter slang term does not appear to be attested before 1920.

Noun

benny (plural bennies)

1. (slang, dated) An overcoat.
   • 1902, Clarence Louis Cullen, More Ex-Tank Tales, page 32:

     […] and figuring on where the engraved papers were going to come from that 'ud enable me to yank one of the bennies out of the eaves. Nobody ever saw me without an overcoat, and the right kind of an overcoat, […]

   • 1931, The Tomahawk of Alpha Sigma Phi, volume 28, number 1, page 12:

     Horse-hide coats are common, but real "honest t' God" fur bennies are very, very scarce.

2. (US, slang, obsolete) A straw hat. [early 20th century]
   • 1923, Owen Seaman, editor, Punch, volume 165, page 514:

     If lil ole Souttland is goin’ to keep her dome up in the golf department, an’ I tip my benny to her right now, she must put the kibosh on gin-hoisting an’ lay a stymie to every saloon.

Etymology 5

Clipping of eggs Benedict.

Noun

benny (plural bennies)

1. (informal) Synonym of eggs Benedict
   • 2019 June 26, Amy Watkins, “Top 15 Brunch Spots in Vancouver, BC”, in Trip Savvy‎^[4]:

     Buffet fans can brunch until your heart's content at Westin Bayshore’s H2 Rotisserie & Bar, where the daily breakfast buffet features free-range eggs cooked to order, bennies, pancakes, waffles, smoked bacon, sausage links, seasonal fruit, freshly made pastries, and much more.

Derived terms

• eggs benny