penny-farthing
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of penny-farthing
From a comparison of the size difference between the two bicycle wheels to the size difference between an old British penny and a farthing
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.
Still, that someone who dresses like a Victorian gentleman on a penny-farthing can wrap his head around digital currency speaks to the power of the past to inform the present.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Some feel threatened by the rising popularity of e-bikes, as though standard bikes will suddenly vanish like the penny-farthing once everyone goes electric.
From The Verge ● Oct. 10, 2019
Pride parade along Santa Monica Boulevard that featured colorful floats and people dancing, singing, walking on stilts and some riding penny-farthing bicycles and electric scooters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2019
Unlike the penny-farthing, its predecessor with the absurdly oversize front wheel, the safety bicycle was fast and nimble, and bicycle racing soon surpassed competitive walking as a popular spectator sport.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 20, 2015
“First of all let me give you this penny-farthing as your wages, and now let us go and meet them without fear.”
From The Legend of the Glorious Adventures of Tyl Ulenspiegel in the land of Flanders and elsewhere by Coster, Charles de
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.
