"a pound to a penny" meaning in English

See a pound to a penny in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

Head templates: {{en-adv|-}} a pound to a penny (not comparable)
  1. (UK, idiomatic) Very likely; almost certainly. Tags: UK, idiomatic, not-comparable Synonyms: bet a dollar to a dime, bet dollars to donuts, bet one's boots, bet one's bottom dollar, bet the farm, take to the bank
    Sense id: en-a_pound_to_a_penny-en-adv-GH509ezT Categories (other): British English, English entries with incorrect language header

Download JSON data for a pound to a penny meaning in English (1.8kB)

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "a pound to a penny (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1872, Holme Lee (pseudonym of Harriet Parr), “Too Prudent by Half; or, Proud Nelly Kingsland”, in Country Stories, Old and New. In Prose and Verse, volume 1, Smith, Elder & Co., published 1872, page 265",
          "text": "\"I'll lay you a pound to a penny that proud Miss Nelly marries John Ormandy in the end.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, P. F Bonneton, The Seeds of Time, page 150",
          "text": "...and where was out boy? ...Discharged early from the National Service in Cyprus! A pound to a penny he was home with Mum...",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015, Rachel Brimble, chapter 17, in What a Woman Desires, page 160",
          "text": "Mrs. Seaton raised her eyebrows. \"What does she think will happen? She might respect what you have to say, but I'll put a pound to a penny no one else at that table will.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Very likely; almost certainly."
      ],
      "id": "en-a_pound_to_a_penny-en-adv-GH509ezT",
      "links": [
        [
          "likely",
          "likely"
        ],
        [
          "certainly",
          "certainly"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, idiomatic) Very likely; almost certainly."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bet a dollar to a dime"
        },
        {
          "word": "bet dollars to donuts"
        },
        {
          "word": "bet one's boots"
        },
        {
          "word": "bet one's bottom dollar"
        },
        {
          "word": "bet the farm"
        },
        {
          "word": "take to the bank"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "a pound to a penny"
}
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English adverbs",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncomparable adverbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1872, Holme Lee (pseudonym of Harriet Parr), “Too Prudent by Half; or, Proud Nelly Kingsland”, in Country Stories, Old and New. In Prose and Verse, volume 1, Smith, Elder & Co., published 1872, page 265",
          "text": "\"I'll lay you a pound to a penny that proud Miss Nelly marries John Ormandy in the end.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, P. F Bonneton, The Seeds of Time, page 150",
          "text": "...and where was out boy? ...Discharged early from the National Service in Cyprus! A pound to a penny he was home with Mum...",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015, Rachel Brimble, chapter 17, in What a Woman Desires, page 160",
          "text": "Mrs. Seaton raised her eyebrows. \"What does she think will happen? She might respect what you have to say, but I'll put a pound to a penny no one else at that table will.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Very likely; almost certainly."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "likely",
          "likely"
        ],
        [
          "certainly",
          "certainly"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, idiomatic) Very likely; almost certainly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "bet a dollar to a dime"
    },
    {
      "word": "bet dollars to donuts"
    },
    {
      "word": "bet one's boots"
    },
    {
      "word": "bet one's bottom dollar"
    },
    {
      "word": "bet the farm"
    },
    {
      "word": "take to the bank"
    }
  ],
  "word": "a pound to a penny"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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