brass farthing

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

brass farthing (plural brass farthings)

1. (idiomatic) Something worthless or of small value.

   Synonyms: plug nickel, plugged nickel

   • 1904–1906, Joseph Conrad, “Rulers of East and West”, in The Mirror of the Sea, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers, published October 1906, →OCLC, page 148:

     The man, as a matter of fact, under no circumstances, ever cared a brass farthing for what I or anybody else in his ship thought.

Derived terms

• not worth a brass farthing