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catchpenny

[ kach-pen-ee ]

/ ˈkætʃˌpɛn i /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR catchpenny ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

made to sell readily at a low price, regardless of value or use.

noun, plural catch·pen·nies.

something that is catchpenny.

Origin of catchpenny

1750–60; from phrase catch ( a) penny

Words nearby catchpenny

catching pen, catchline, catchment, catchment area, catchment board, catchpenny, catchpole, catchup, catchwater drain, catchweed, catchweight

Example sentences from the Web for catchpenny

Fortunate, indeed, is the famous man who escapes the catchpenny biographer.

Old Familiar Faces |Theodore Watts-Dunton
Wrote a tale of "'76," which with others will make a catchpenny book.

Louisa May Alcott |Louisa May Alcott
It was Marr, though, who had seized upon it when it merely was a catchpenny carnival device and made of it a real money earner.

Sundry Accounts |Irvin S. Cobb
Their popularity is not of the catchpenny sort; thoughtful people read them, as well as the great drove of the undiscriminating.

Library Of The World's Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol 6 |Various

And what catchpenny ballad writer could not write a parody on them as you have done?

The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson, Volumes One and Two |Harriette Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for catchpenny

catchpenny

/ (ˈkætʃˌpɛnɪ) /

adjective

(prenominal) designed to have instant appeal, esp in order to sell quickly and easily without regard for quality catchpenny ornaments

noun plural -nies

an item or commodity that is cheap and showy