tenpenny
Americanadjective
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noting a nail 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in length. 10d.
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worth or costing 10 cents.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of tenpenny
A late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at ten, penny
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.
Cowan’s Roosevelt slashes the air with his right hand while making key points; he clips his words with a speaking style that one contemporary likened to biting off tenpenny nails.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2016
"No, by God." said the sergeant, "it was a tenpenny nail."
From Time Magazine Archive
But I will wager a toothpick against a tenpenny nail that Hoover will be renominated and re-elected in 1932.
From Time Magazine Archive
That could hardly have worried Harold Stassen less: he was already hard at work hammering tenpenny nails into his political platform.
From Time Magazine Archive
But what was his surprise, on reaching his tiny cottage, to find the shutters all closed, though it was early afternoon, and the front door held fast on the outside by two great tenpenny nails.
From Jerry's Reward by Barry, Etheldred B. (Etheldred Breeze)
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.
