每日英語 #148: A Pretty Penny 一便士

2024/10/12閱讀時間約 7 分鐘

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A Pretty Penny 一便士

A penny is, in American “currency” (money), the smallest possible amount (equal to 1/100 of a dollar). Since 1909, it has had the “image” (picture) of President Abraham Lincoln on it and is sometimes referred to as the “Lincoln penny.”

一便士在美國的“貨幣”中是最小的金額（等於一美元的1/100）。自1909年以來，它上面印有亞伯拉罕·林肯總統的“肖像”，有時也被稱為“林肯便士”。

There are many expressions using the word “penny.” One of the most popular is “a pretty penny,” which means a lot of money or expensive. You might say: “That car cost him a pretty penny!”

有許多與“便士”相關的表達。其中最流行的一個是“a pretty penny”，意思是很多錢或昂貴。你可能會說：“那輛車花了他不少錢！”

The origin of the term is very old: In the year 1257, the English government “issued” (began to use) a gold coin that never became very popular. People didn’t like using it, and so the government stopped making them.

這個詞語的起源非常古老：在1257年，英國政府“發行”了一枚金幣，但它從未流行起來。人們不喜歡使用它，因此政府停止了生產。

After that, it was quite rare to see this “attractive” (pretty) gold coin, so the coin became associated with something very valuable, something worth a lot of money. Somehow this got changed into a “penny” and became popular in the U.S.

之後，這枚“吸引人的”（漂亮的）金幣變得很稀有，因此它與非常有價值的事物聯繫在一起。這種聯想後來變成了“便士”，並在美國流行起來。

Today, a penny is actually worth very little, so it’s a little strange that “a pretty penny” actually has the opposite meaning – something quite expensive!

如今，一便士實際上價值很小，所以“a pretty penny”這個短語的實際意思正好相反——指的是非常昂貴的東西！

There are actually several expressions related to the penny, including:

其實有很多與便士相關的表達，包括：

1. “A penny for your thoughts”: This expression is used to ask someone to tell you what they are thinking, especially if the person doesn’t seem to want to talk
“A penny for your thoughts”：這個表達用來詢問某人他在想什麼，特別是在對方看起來不願意說話的時候。**

2. “Penny pincher”: This is someone who is considered cheap or who never spends his or her money. “To pinch” here means to save, so a penny pincher is someone who saves even very small coins, like pennies.
“Penny pincher”：這指的是一個被認為吝嗇的人，從不花錢。“pinch”在這裡的意思是儲蓄，所以“penny pincher”就是連很小的硬幣，例如便士，也會儲蓄的人。

3. “To turn up like a bad penny”: This one is a little “old-fashioned” (not popular today), but you may still see it. “To turn up” means to arrive or appear unexpectedly. A bad penny refers to a bad or undesirable person who keeps returning even when they are not wanted.
“To turn up like a bad penny”：這個表達有點“過時”（今天不太流行），但你仍然可能見到。“Turn up”意思是意外地出現或到來。“Bad penny”指的是一個壞的或不受歡迎的人，這個人即使不被需要也總是出現。