Why do ppl say "A penny for your thoughts"?

Question

did they really give a penny to the person back then?

Answer 1

People ask, "A penny for your thoughts," because they want to know what the person they're asking is thinking.

It's an unobtrusive way of asking "what's on your mind?" or "what are you thinking?" or "why so deep in thought?"

"A Penny for your thoughts" is an idiomatic expression.

1. An idiom is an expression (i.e. term or phrase) whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal definitions and the arrangement of its parts, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through conventional use. In linguistics, idioms are figures of speech that contradict the principle of compositionality.

2. "Penny For Your Thoughts"
Meaning: What are you thinking? Tell me what is on your mind.

Origin: Early in the 1500s, when people first started using this
expression, a penny was worth more than it is today. So if you offered a penny to a person who was either thinking or daydreaming, you'd be offering a lot to know what was going on in his or her mind.

3. A penny may not seem like much money today, but four hundred and fifth-eight years ago it may have been a considerable amount. That's how far back scholars have been able to trace this expression. The first record of its use is in a book of collected proverbs published in 1546 by a man in England named John Heywood, but it isn't likely that he was the creator of it because his book, called Proverbs in the English Tongue, is a collection of proverbs known at the time. Because this expression doesn't really seem to be a proverb, it is likely that there was more to it when it was in use five hundered or so years ago.

4. 017 When a person seems to be daydreaming or is deep in thought, an American might say to him, A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS. This is an encouragement to share what is on one's mind. In America, you might hear, "Your mind seems to be somewhere else, Eve. A penny for your thoughts." This saying can be traced back to John Heywood's collection of proverbs penned in1546. Here is another example. "Jeff was unusually quiet at the dinner table. Concerned about him, Jan asked, 'A penny for your thoughts?'" A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Answer 2

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS - "What's on your mind? (Usually said to someone who is looking pensive.) The saying is from a time when the British penny was worth a significant sum. In 1522, Sir Thomas More wrote (in 'Four Last Things'): 'It often happeth, that the very face sheweth the mind walking a pilgrimage, in such wise that. Other folk sodainly say to them a peny for your thought.'" From "The Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Ballantine Books, New York, 1985).

Answer 3

sounds like bribery to us introverted types :)
taking inflation into consideration these days .. I would probably keep my secrets secret... but a quarter might change my mind :)

I don't know the true origin of the phrase.. but your reasoning sounds like a fair assumption.
At the time I am sure penny candy was still worth a penny... and who can pass up free candy?

Answer 4

A thought will be worth a penny if its just a thought. If u do it u might just become rich.

Answer 5

lol because you think alot in means u no if only u got a penny for every time u think my gess is u would be a millionare and i i dont think they did that thats kinda stupid

Answer 6

The same reason people say "Ill give you my two cents"

Answer 7

That phrase hasn't been adjusted for inflation. huh

Answer 8

it means that other people are curious to see whats on your mind.

Answer 9

They're cheap.