spend a penny
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From the act of putting a (pre-decimal) penny in the slot of a pay-toilet cubicle.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb[edit]
spend a penny (third-person singular simple present spends a penny, present participle spending a penny, simple past and past participle spent a penny)
- (UK, dated, euphemistic) To use the toilet.
- 1982, Alan Bennett, “A Woman of No Importance”, in The Complete Talking Heads, Picador, published 2010, →ISBN, page 14:
- I put on a lick of paint, slip over and spend a penny in Costing…I should technically use the one in Records but I've told them, that lavatory seat is a death trap.