Has anyone heard of an expression, from the Renaissance or older, containing the word "tuppence" which describes a student of the law or someone without a great deal of experience or training in it?
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I think this is "too localised"– FumbleFingersCommented Dec 14, 2011 at 17:43
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Actually, it's not localized. The reference to law student is a red herring.– KrisCommented Apr 26, 2012 at 20:17
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2 Answers
Do you perhaps mean "tuppeny ha'penny"? It's a general term for something cheap and shoddy.
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2There's also the much rarer don't know tuppence, which one can imagine might be said of an inexperienced lawyer. Commented Dec 14, 2011 at 17:42
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Ah, I haven't heard that for a while or "not worth tuppence".– WudangCommented Dec 14, 2011 at 17:54
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Thanks for clearing up some Elvis Costello imagery for me! Commented Apr 26, 2012 at 19:57
Tuppence is a contraction of sorts for two pence, that is, not a lot or practically nothing.
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-1 This doesn't give an expression describing a law student (unless you're saying that tuppence is the expression).– zpletanCommented Apr 26, 2012 at 20:03
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@zpletan Is there a reason this should or should not be applied to law students alone?– KrisCommented Apr 26, 2012 at 20:10
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1@Kris unless the expression (about anybody, law student or not) runs similar to he is tuppence, this does not answer the question. Perhaps I downvoted too hastily; is tuppence (or tuppenny) the British equivalent of two-bit?– zpletanCommented Apr 26, 2012 at 20:23
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At least you didn't google it first. :-) Maybe you still haven't.– KrisCommented Apr 26, 2012 at 20:32
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@Kris, I didn't find much, so I'm guessing that it's not equivalent to two-bit. If you or Brad (or anybody) edits in an example usage of tuppence as an expression, I'll reverse my downvote.– zpletanCommented Apr 26, 2012 at 21:31