look as if one has lost a shilling and found sixpence
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
look unhappy or disappointed
Literally: appear to have suffered a small financial loss but gained a bit more
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
He looked as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence when he heard the news.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “look as if one has lost a shilling and found sixpence” mean?
look unhappy or disappointed Literally: appear to have suffered a small financial loss but gained a bit more
Is “look as if one has lost a shilling and found sixpence” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.