| 释义 |
Idiom spend a penny British & Australian, informal if you say you are going to spend a penny, you mean you are going to go to the toilet.Excuse me, I must go and spend a penny.
idiomspend a penny BrEBrEold-fashioned used in order to say that you need to go to the toilet ◆ used especially when talking to children:Have you spent a penny, Jack? We're going to be driving for a long time.I'll be with you in a minute, I just have to spend a penny.NoteThis idiom comes from the time when you had to put a penny (=one-pence coin) in the door of a public toilet, to open it.
spend a pennyeuphemism To go to the toilet. Primarily heard in UK. A: "Where's Janet?" B: "She's gone to spend a penny." spend a penny urinate. British informal At one time coin-operated locks were commonly found on the doors of public lavatories. The phrase is now rather dated. spend a ˈpenny (old-fashioned, British English, informal) go to the toilet; urinate: Do you want to spend a penny before we leave?In the past, public toilets in England had coin operated locks, which cost one penny to open. |