After dropping “That’s my $0.02.” into an email for a multi-cultural uni group today, I was asked what it meant. Finding a definition was surprisingly difficult, but I did stumble across a forum with this little gem on the way:
The phrase “2 cents” does often be found in emails and some other situations. What does this phrase mean?
I believe the complete phrase you want is “two cents’ worth,” but often shortened to “two cents,” as in, “Can I put in my two cents here?” Two cents is, in the U.S., two pennies, a very small sum of money. Even in “the old days,” two pennies were considered not worth much. So my opinion, which may not be worth much, is “my two cents’ worth.”
If its “My 2 cents worth” and “A penny for your thoughts”, where does the other penny go?
That’s the penny that dropped.
