half•pen•ny
Pronunciation: (hā'pu-nē, hāp'nē), [key]
— n., pl. adj. half•pen•nies half•pence
—n.
- a bronze coin of the United Kingdom, equal to half a penny: use phased out in 1984.
- the sum of half a penny.
—adj.
- of the price or value of a halfpenny.
- of little value; worthless: a halfpenny matter.
- (of newspapers) sensational, esp. morbidly or offensively so.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.