Lynn3  +  182456 Fri, 13 Jan 06 08:32 AM A young man and woman are out on a date W: You seem  a little preoccupied. What are you thinking about? M: Oh, it's nothing importnat. Really. W: Oh, really.C'mon. You can tell me. A penny for your thoughts. What does " A penny for your thoughts" mean? and why is it only one penny? Thanks, Lynn Lynn3 Joined on Fri, Aug 19 2005 Taiwan Full Member 135 Dates

	LanguageLover  +  182461 Fri, 13 Jan 06 08:52 AM I got this from a website about a couple's wedding, I don't know why this definition was put there, but anyway, here is the address and text: http://www.thevinallcountdown.co.uk/head_over_heels.php A Penny Thought Why is it that people are prepared to give you a 'penny for your thoughts', whereas in this day and age, a penny won't even buy you a penny chew, which, a recent survey has shown, now cost an average of 3.6 pence. The phrase originates in the first days of the postal service when a penny for your thought would be enough to carry that thought, appropriately scribed onto lightweight parchment, to a recipient. Given the inflation since the phrase first came about in 1840, we should now be asking for 30p! LanguageLover Joined on Fri, Feb 25 2005 Contributing Member 1,507 The similarities among the languages are more than their differences! Weddings, Images

	Grammar Geek  +  182872 Fri, 13 Jan 06 08:42 PM Thanks for the origin - I'd never heard it before.  The phrase just means "I'd like to know what you're thinking." But here's something a little amusing - if you give your opinion about something, it's your "two cents' worth."  I wonder why it's worth twice as much when you give it verus being asked?   And you can say it outloud, although it's very informal.  Say someone is wondering which dress to buy - you'd say "Well, if you want my two cents, go with the blue one" Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,683 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!