red cent

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a cent, as representative of triviality.

   His promise isn't worth a red cent.

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red cent British  

noun

1. informal (used with a negative) a cent considered as a trivial amount of money (esp in the phrases not have a red cent , not worth a red cent , etc)

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red cent Idioms  

1. see under not worth a dime.

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Etymology

Origin of red cent

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

If you want to make sure each child gets exactly the same inheritance, down to the last red cent, you could give him your share of the rental property, minus the contribution your daughter made.

From MarketWatch

They will try to squeeze every red cent from you when you fly.

From Seattle Times

“Throughout this entire pandemic, Florida has not touched one red cent from our rainy day fund. So, the bottom line is this: By saving Florida’s economy our budget outlook is much more positive.”

From Washington Times

“Yeah, it took off on its own. Like, there was not one red cent behind it. No marketing, no nothing,” said Brown.

From Fox News

Janus was fine with collecting the higher wages that the labor union representing him secured for workers, but Janus didn’t want to contribute one red cent for that representation.

From Salon