penny readings
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Parochial entertainments, consisting of readings, music, etc., for which one penny admission is charged.
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 “penny readings” mean?
Parochial entertainments, consisting of readings, music, etc., for which one penny admission is charged.
Is “penny readings” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.