he has got his pennyworth

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

He has got good value for his money; sometimes said of one who has received a good drubbing.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “he has got his pennyworth” mean?

He has got good value for his money; sometimes said of one who has received a good drubbing.

Is “he has got his pennyworth” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.