fourpenny

American  

[fawr-pen-ee, -puh-nee, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌpɛn i, -pə ni, ˈfoʊr- /

adjective

1. Carpentry.

   1. noting a nail 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) long.

   2. noting certain fine nails 1.375 inches (3.5 centimeters) long. 4d

2. British. of the amount or value of fourpence.

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fourpenny British  

/ ˈfɔːpənɪ /

adjective

1. slang a blow, esp with the fist

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Etymology

Origin of fourpenny

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English. See four, penny

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fourpenny

When he was a child-actor in London he used to steal waitresses' fourpenny tips to eke out his meagre lunches.

From Time Magazine Archive

Away from home he only smoked fourpenny cigars, but at home he smoked pipes.

From Renée Mauperin by Alys Hallard

Let her ask her own heart, write again, abstain from sealing with a fourpenny bit, and spell "intense" with an "s," not a "c."

From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various

The boy "Betty" was already asleep, while the Lady Sarah and "the Panorama" divided a fourpenny pie most faithfully between them.

From Aladdin of London or, Lodestar by Sir Max Pemberton

I never, in my fourpenny dining-place, looked at the drayman or porter at the next table and wondered whether he also knew the heights and abysses I knew.

From In Accordance with the Evidence by Oliver [pseud.] Onions