halfpennyworth
Britishnoun
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an amount that may be bought for a halfpenny
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a trifling or very small amount
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is the man that is penny-wise, and pound- foolish; this is he that loseth his good Sheep for a halfpennyworth of tarr; that loseth a soul for a little of the world.
From Life and Death of Mr. Badman by Bunyan, John
Don't lose a sheep for a halfpennyworth of tar: tar is used to mark sheep.
From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis
Not one halfpennyworth of property was lost, stolen, or strayed.
From The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 1, 1833-1856 by Hogarth, Georgina
But these are but the halfpennyworth of bread compared to the vast quantity of sack.
From Art in England Notes and Studies by Cook, Dutton
But in my present undertaking it passes as the halfpennyworth of bread to many gallons of sack.
From A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II by Smith, David Eugene
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
