"Just my tuppence worth" What is the origin of this phrase?

Answer 1

The BASIC point of the expression is rooted in the idea of tuppence (alternately 'two pennyworth', 'two cents', 'two bits') being a small, insignificant amount. The expression is generally used to speak modestly of my small contribution to a discussion.
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As for its ORIGINS:

First, though people are correct to point out that "tuppence"/"two pence" is the equivalent of American "two cents", the American expression "my two cents worth" is clearly NOT the origin of the British idiom.

It is, in fact, the other way round!! This explains the "worth" part, which has no real explanation in American English. "two cents worth" is simply a translation of the British expression. Recognizing this helps us rule out several of the popularly offered explanations for the meaning of the American expression (none of which does anything to explain why "worth" is included).
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Basic forms: (Two)penny worth, etc.

Here are some of the forms used:
"my two penny ['tuppnee']worth"
"my tuppence worth"
"two-penneth/penn'oth/pen'oth/pennorth/penn'orth

The fuller idiom is something like "give my two penny worth"

The key to the expression is to recognize the variety of uses of "pennyworth" and especially of "two pennyworth" (and derived forms like "tuppence"...)

One answer has already noted the word "pennyworth". But unfortunately he failed to notice that this is used in DIFFERENT ways in various idioms, and chose the wrong one to focus on. Yes, sometimes "pennyworth" refers to "full value". But as Bartleby mainly notes (under "pennyworth, pen'oth") that it is also used to refer to:

"A SMALL quantity, as much as can be bought for a penny. Butler says, "This was the pen'oth of his thought" (Hudibras, ii. 3), meaning that its scope or amount was EXTREMELY SMALL."
http://www.bartleby.com/81/13011.html

(Incidentally, this particular citation seems to suggest a link to a penny for your THOUGHTS... which makes sense... since 'my two...' concerns my thoughts/opinion on a matter. Note that this expression is used by the 16th century
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpennythoughts.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/24/messages/454.html )

The emphasis on the smallness, even insignificance of the amount is even MORE pronounced in idioms used "TWO penny"/"tuppence", "two pennyworth", etc.

For example:
"I couldn't give tuppence what you think" = "I couldn't care less what you think."
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=201223

Other examples of twopence/'tuppence' or 'two penny' (/tupnee/) as a small, insignificant amount, not of much value, from OED
- 16th century Scottish derisive reference to an inexpensive Catholic catechism as "Two penny Faith"
- "a wretched twopence of a woman"
1762 - "Tis not two-pence matter"

We see the same in the American use of "two cents" for "something of insignificant value; a paltry amount: We wouldn't give two cents for their chances of success."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/two%20cents%20worth

A related British English expression is the disparaging nickname "twopenny halfpenny" (Gilbert and Sullivan fans will recognize this in the slightly modified, Germanized name of the duchy in "The Grand Duke [of Pfennig-Halbpfennig]")
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"Two bits?"

This last form reminds us that variations on the idea should be expected. We see this in American uses of not just "two cents", but also two bit(s)" for a very small amount. Though the literal meaning of "two bits" for a quarter (based on the colonial use of Spanish coins, esp. "pieces of eight" [the equivalent of the thaler/dollar being cut into eight parts])**, the figurative uses of "two bit(s)" owe more to the various "two penny(worth)" type expressions.
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_%28money%29#United_States
http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_05/stott070705.html

Thus we end up with the following for "two bits" and "two bit"
"quarter," 1730, in ref. to the Mexican real, a large coin that was divided into eight bits (cf. piece of eight; see piece); hence two-bit (adj.) "cheap, tawdry," first recorded 1929.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=two+bits&sourceid=Mozilla-search
"something of small worth or importance"
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=two+bits
"A petty sum"
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dict.asp?Word=two+bits
"petty, insignificant, inferior or unimportant; small-time: a two-bit actor"
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=two+bit
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/two-bit

All this should lay to rest the popular explanation that "two cents worth" originates from a 'two BIT' (quarter) minimum wager in poker, which is undocumented anyway. Again --it's the other way round!
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/393950.html
(example of this supposed origin - http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOriginsData.htm )
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Use for offering an opinion?

So we have the BASIC meaning of 'twopenny (worth)' -- as something small, insignificant. But what about its use in the expression "Give/add my two pence [cents] worth" and the like referring to offering my tiny contribution, i.e., opinion, to a discussion?

We're not absolutely sure of when that began to be used --sometime in the mid to late 19th century it appears. (And, as suggested above, perhaps the old expression "penny for your thoughts" played a role/combined with the uses of "two pennyworth".)

It is POSSIBLE that there is something to the explanation offered in the AUE-FAQ, which connects it to the sending of a letter to the editor, and perhaps to the cost of a stamp -

"Bo Bradham suggested that it came from "the days of $.02 postage. To 'put one's two cents' worth in' referred to the cost of a letter to the editor, the president, or whomever was deserving". According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the first-class postal rate was 2 cents an ounce between 1883 and 1932 . . .
"This OED citation confirms that two-cent stamps were once common: "1902 ELIZ. L. BANKS Newspaper Girl xiv, Dinah got a letter through the American mail. She had fivepence to pay on it, because only a common two-cent stamp had been stuck on it." On the other hand, "two-cent" was an American expression for "of little value" (similar to British "twopenny-halfpenny"), so the phrase may simply have indicated the writer's modesty about the value of his contribution."
http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxputino.html

I'm not entirely clear about the American postage rates in this suggestion, but the idea might well fit in with the 19th century British "twopenny post" (ordinary charge for delivery of a letter).

But even if the postage rate played a part, I believe it is clear that the uses of twopenny/two cents to refer to how SMALL, even insignificant the offering is key.
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"two mites"?

One other expression may possibly have played a role in all this. That is the biblical story (esp. the reference in Mark 12:42) to the widow who gave "two mites, which make up a farthing [=the fourth part of a penny]" in the KJV (and before that in William Tyndale). In the story Jesus is commending her because she is giving ALL she has... SEEMINGLY insignificant, but in Jesus' judgment much more than the bags of money given by the wealthy.

Did this passage in any way contribute to the notion of making a small but worthwhile contribution (including of one's opinion)? Do note that the word "penny" is never used for this passage -- that is associated with Latin denarius (-ia) [as seen in the notation 2d for two penny., etc] And the fact that "give one's two pennyworth/two cents worth" seems to be a NINETEENTH century coinage (no pun intended), makes it less likely. (For that matter, the English idiom based on this passage is, somewhat incorrectly, the singular form "the widow's mite".)

Answer 2

Tuppence Worth

Answer 3

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it was mainly from london in the markets the terms tuppence and thruppence and fourpence was used in the old pound shillings and pence days which ceased between 1968 and 1975 .tuppence was the usual price of a cup of tea.thruppence was the old threepenny joey.four pence piece was a groat.(this ceased around 1928) sixpence piece was a tanner shilling piece was a bob.a two shilling piece was a florin. then you had half a crown= two shilling and sixpence .then a five shilling piece =a crown .(very rarely seen) then you had the 10 shilling note.(called half a sheet). then the pound note and the guinea coin = one pound and one shilling..then the five pound and ten pound and twenty pound notes. you also had the farthing a quarter of a penny a halfpenny (which speaks for itself)in 1945 a farthing would buy a quarter pound of sweets which today would cost you around £4 .the pound sign we use today is a throwback to the latin libra solidus denarius £ s d.and the answer to your question ,only older people use these expressions now .youngsters today have no concept of the value of money.

Answer 4

Oh how I long for the pre decimal currency with 240 pennies to a pound and 480 halfpennies. That way prices didn't rise so quickly. Anyway on to your question. We used to say:- A penny tuppence (or twopence but pronounced tuppence) Threepence (Pronounced thre-pence in the north and thruppence in the south and midlands) fourpence, fivepence, sixpence, sevenpence,, eightpence, ninepence, tenpence and elevenpence. Twelvepence was a shilling. The pence bit was pronounced more like punse in the north and pernse in the south. Agatha Christie had two characters in her novels named Tommy and Tuppence Berrisford. In one story Tuppence was kidnapped and Tommy was sent a letter from the kidnapper, supposedly from Tuppence, but he signed it as 'Twopence' so Tommy knew it wasn't genuine and didn't fall for the ploy but, instead, rescued Tuppence. In modern times people say 'A penny, two pence, three pence' and so on. What is annoying is when people refer to a penny as 'one pence' since pence is plural so it should be one penny.

Answer 5

Two Pennies Worth

Answer 6

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RE:
"Just my tuppence worth" What is the origin of this phrase?

Answer 7

Tuppence is slang for "two pence." Pence is a penny, 1 cent. In British pounds (currency), is a two-pence coin.

The phrase has an American variation, "just my two cents." Both phrases mean, "this just is my opinion, though it isn't worth much."

Answer 8

"Tuppence" is what we used to call two old pence (you're obviously too young to remember, but we used to have a different currency). Threepence (one word) was pronounced "throopence". In some parts of the country it was spelt (and pronounced) "thruppence".

"Fivepence", "sixpence", and so on, were always written as one word.

People stopped doing all this when the present currency came out (in 1971), but I think it's starting to come back.

Answer 9

It means 'my modest contribution' to the discusion.

a contribution worth two old pennies (240 to the pound in old denomination) 'tuppence'

Answer 10

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Answer 11

My father used to say, "My two pennyworth". It was pre-decimalisation. You used to be able to buy quite a lot for two pennies - particulalry loose objects like a weight of nails, or sweets.

The implication was that what you had to contribute to a discussion had real measurable value, although you were describing it in a deprecating way.

To "have your pennyworth" means you have got due value for your money.