ninepence
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Related to ninepence: shilling
(as) nice as ninepence
Very tidy, neat, and well-organized; in good order. After my kids made me breakfast in bed, I expected the kitchen to be a mess. But was I ever surprised to find the whole place as nice as ninepence when I came downstairs! James is so meticulous with his office, always keeping it nice as ninepence.
(as) neat as ninepence
Very tidy, neat, and well-organized; in good order. After my kids made me breakfast in bed, I expected the kitchen to be a mess. But was I ever surprised to find the whole place as neat as ninepence when I came downstairs! James is so meticulous with his office, always keeping it neat as ninepence.
(as) right as ninepence
Very tidy, neat, and well-organized; in good order. After my kids made me breakfast in bed, I expected the kitchen to be a mess. But was I ever surprised to find the whole place as right as ninepence when I came downstairs! James is so meticulous with his office, always keeping it right as ninepence.
no more than ninepence in the shilling
obsolete Having no or little intelligence or common sense. Primarily heard in UK. The fool, who is no more than ninepence in the shilling, took the natives' aggressive overtures as being an enthusiastic greeting to the colonists.
no more than ninepence in the shilling
of low intelligence. datedSince the decimalization of the British coinage, this phrase has gradually fallen out of use, but there are numerous other humorous variations on the theme of someone not possessing their proper share of brains or intelligence, for example a sandwich short of a picnic (see sandwich).