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"My two cents" ("my 2¢") and its longer version "put my two cents in" is an American and Australian idiomatic expression,^[1] taken from the original English idiom "to put in my two-penny worth" or "put my tuppence in".

Origin

The earliest reference to an analogue of "two cents/pence" appears in the lesson of the widow's mite from both the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke. In the biblical episode, several wealthy temple patrons donate large sums of money, while a poor widow places just two small coins into the offering. She finds greater favour with Jesus than the wealthy patrons however, as the two coins constitute her whole wealth, as opposed to a tiny fraction from the rich merchants of theirs.

A possible origin may be from boxing in Nottingham during the 1900s. Jack Jetlamey, a well-known gambler despite the little money he had, was always willing to bet on Jack Johnson, a new hopeful boxer. Jetlamey was known to say "two, two, two my two cents in for Johnson", making the whole audience laugh at every match.^[2]

Other likely origins are that "my two pennies' worth" is derived from the much older 16th-century English expression, "a penny for your thoughts", possibly a sarcastic response to receiving more opinion than was wanted "I said a penny for your thoughts, but I got two pennies' worth". There is also some belief that the idiom may have its origins in the early cost of postage in England, the "twopenny post", where two pennies was the normal charge of sending a letter containing one's words and thoughts or feelings to someone.^[3]^[4]

Usage

The expression is used to preface a tentative statement of one's opinion. By deprecating the opinion to follow—suggesting its value is only two cents, a very small amount—the user of the phrase, showing politeness and humility, hopes to lessen the impact of a possibly contentious statement. For example, "If I may put my two cents in, that hat doesn't do you any favors" (a polite way of saying, for example, "that hat is ugly"). The expression is also sometimes used to preface uncontentious opinions, for example, "My two cents is that you should sell your stock now."

"Two cents" and its variations may also be used in place of the noun "opinion" or the verb phrase "state [subject's] opinion", e.g. "You had to put your two cents in, didn't you?" or "But that’s just my two cents."

This expression is also often used as a supplementary phrase after a statement, e.g. "Just my two cents."

In Australia, the expression was initially "my two bobs' worth". A 'bob' was a shilling in pre-decimal currency. The expression continued in common usage after the introduction of decimal currency in 1966. For example: "Federal Opposition spokesperson Bob Hawke threw in his two-bobs' worth when he opened the Ironworkers national conference this week".^[5] In modern Australian usage, both "two bobs worth" and "two cents worth" are acceptable.

References

^ Brenner, Gail (23 September 2011). One's two cents. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544188907. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
^ Jacoby, Oswald (1950). "The Forms of Gambling". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 269: 39–45. doi:10.1177/000271625026900107. S2CID 144189175.
^ Úna (2022-07-20). "Not In The List".
^ "Twopenny Post". www.earsathome.com. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
^ "Wage System on the Skids". Tribune (Sydney): 5. 22 July 1981.

[1] Brenner, Gail (23 September 2011). One's two cents. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544188907. Retrieved 26 November 2013.

[2] Jacoby, Oswald (1950). "The Forms of Gambling". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 269: 39–45. doi:10.1177/000271625026900107. S2CID 144189175.

[3] Úna (2022-07-20). "Not In The List".

[4] "Twopenny Post". www.earsathome.com. Retrieved 2022-07-20.

[5] "Wage System on the Skids". Tribune (Sydney): 5. 22 July 1981.

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-{{short description|Idiomatic expression for expressing an unsolicited opinion}}
+{{Short description|Idiomatic expression for expressing an unsolicited opinion}}
-{{refimprove|date=December 2013}}
+{{More citations needed|date=December 2013}}
-[[File:1909-s-vdb-wheat-cent.jpg|thumb|260px|A 1909 United States [[Penny (United States coin)|penny]], worth one [[Cent (currency)|cent]]. The coin pictured is a 1909 "S", meaning it was minted in [[San Francisco]], and as such is quite rare and worth considerably more to collectors than one cent.]]
-"'''My two cents'''" ("'''my 2¢'''") and its longer version "'''put my two cents in'''" is an [[United States|American]] [[idiom]]atic expression,<ref>{{cite web |last=Brenner |first=Gail |title=One's two cents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m7le7O8KAEwC&pg=PT298 |work=Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook |access-date=26 November 2013}}</ref> taken from the original English idiom "'''to put in my two-penny worth'''" or "'''my two cents'''". This expression was born in Nottingham during the great years of English boxing in the 1900s. Jack Jetlamey, a well-known gambler despite the little money he had, was always willing to bet on this new hopeful Jack Johnson. Jetlamey was always saying "two, two, two my two cents in for Johnson" making the whole audience laugh at every match.<ref>https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000271625026900107?journalCode=anna</ref> It is used to preface a tentative statement of one’s opinion.
-By deprecating the opinion to follow—suggesting its value is only two [[Cent (currency)|cents]], a very small amount—the user of the phrase, showing [[politeness]] and [[humility]], hopes to lessen the impact of a possibly contentious statement. However, it is also sometimes used [[irony|ironically]] when expressing a strongly held opinion.
-The phrase is also sometimes used out of habit to preface uncontentious opinions. For example:
-"If I may put my two cents in, that hat doesn't do you any favors." (A polite way of saying, for example: That hat is [[ugliness|ugly]]). Another example would be: "My two cents is that you should sell your stock now."
+"'''My two cents'''" ("'''my 2¢'''") and its longer version "'''put my two cents in'''" is an American and Australian [[idiom]]atic expression,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brenner |first=Gail |title=One's two cents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m7le7O8KAEwC&pg=PT298 |date=23 September 2011 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=9780544188907 |access-date=26 November 2013}}</ref> taken from the original English idiom "'''to put in my two-penny worth'''" or "'''put my tuppence in'''".
-==Background==
-The earliest reference to an analog of "two cents" appears in the [[lesson of the widow's mite]] in both the [[Gospel of Mark]] and the [[Gospel of Luke]]. In the biblical episode, several wealthy temple patrons donate large sums of money, but an extremely poor widow places just two small coins, i.e. her two cents, into the offering. She finds greater favor with [[Jesus]] than do the wealthy patrons, seeing that the widow gave all of her money to the Temple in Jerusalem while the wealthy patrons made little investment, leaving much money for themselves.
+==Origin==
-Some believe that the phrase originates in betting card games, such as [[poker]]. In these games, one must make a small bet, or [[Betting in poker#Ante|ante]], before beginning play. Thus, the phrase makes an analogy between entering the game and entering a conversation. However, there is no documentary evidence of this being the origin of the idiom, so it is merely speculation. Other likely origins are that ''"my two pennies worth"'' is derived from the much older 16th-century English expression, ''"a penny for your thoughts"'', possibly a sarcastic response to receiving more opinion than was wanted '''"I said ''a penny for your thoughts'', but I got two pennies' worth"'''. There is also some belief that the idiom may have its origins in the early cost of postage in England, the "twopenny post", where two pennies was the normal charge of sending a letter containing one's words and thoughts or feelings to someone.
+The earliest reference to an analogue of "two cents/pence" appears in the [[lesson of the widow's mite]] from both the [[Gospel of Mark]] and the [[Gospel of Luke]]. In the biblical episode, several wealthy temple patrons donate large sums of money, while a poor widow places just two small coins into the offering. She finds greater favour with [[Jesus]] than the wealthy patrons however, as the two coins constitute her whole wealth, as opposed to a tiny fraction from the rich merchants of theirs.
+A possible origin may be from [[boxing]] in [[Nottingham]] during the 1900s. Jack Jetlamey, a well-known gambler despite the little money he had, was always willing to bet on [[Jack Johnson (boxer)|Jack Johnson]], a new hopeful boxer. Jetlamey was known to say "two, two, two my two cents in for Johnson", making the whole audience laugh at every match.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000271625026900107?journalCode=anna|doi = 10.1177/000271625026900107|title = The Forms of Gambling|year = 1950|last1 = Jacoby|first1 = Oswald|journal = The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume = 269|pages = 39–45|s2cid = 144189175}}</ref>
+Other likely origins are that "my two pennies' worth" is derived from the much older 16th-century English expression, "a penny for your thoughts", possibly a sarcastic response to receiving more opinion than was wanted "I said ''a penny for your thoughts'', but I got two pennies' worth". There is also some belief that the idiom may have its origins in the early cost of postage in England, the "twopenny post", where two pennies was the normal charge of sending a letter containing one's words and thoughts or feelings to someone.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Úna |date=2022-07-20 |title=Not In The List |url=https://notonthelist.life/two-pennies/?doing_wp_cron=1655681757.4572849273681640625000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Twopenny Post |url=http://www.earsathome.com/webgil/2penypst.html |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=www.earsathome.com}}</ref>
+== Usage ==
+{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}
+The expression is used to preface a tentative statement of one's opinion. By deprecating the opinion to follow—suggesting its value is only two [[Cent (currency)|cents]], a very small amount—the user of the phrase, showing [[politeness]] and [[humility]], hopes to lessen the impact of a possibly contentious statement. For example, "If I may put my two cents in, that hat doesn't do you any favors" (a polite way of saying, for example, "that hat is ugly"). The expression is also sometimes used to preface uncontentious opinions, for example, "My two cents is that you should sell your stock now."
 "Two cents" and its variations may also be used in place of the noun  "opinion" or the verb phrase "state [subject's] opinion", e.g. "You had to put your two cents in, didn't you?" or "But that’s just my two cents."
 This expression is also often used as a supplementary phrase after a statement, e.g. "Just my two cents."
+In Australia, the expression was initially "my two bobs' worth".  A 'bob' was a shilling in pre-decimal currency.  The expression continued in common usage after the introduction of [[Australian dollar|decimal currency]] in 1966.  For example: "Federal Opposition spokesperson Bob Hawke threw in his two-bobs' worth when he opened the Ironworkers national conference this week".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Wage System on the Skids |journal=Tribune (Sydney) |date=22 July 1981 |pages=5 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/259980128?searchTerm=his%20two%20bobs%20worth}}</ref>  In modern Australian usage, both "two bobs worth" and "two cents worth" are acceptable.
 ==See also==
@@ Line 25: / Line 30: @@
 {{reflist}}
-[[Category:American English idioms]]
+[[Category:English-language idioms]]