"My Two Cents" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 04/06/2020

0:00 - How to Say, “My two cents.”
0:16 - Meaning of “My two cents.”
1:13 - A Surprising Fact About “My two cents.”
1:56 - Origin of “My two cents.”
3:58 - Conclusion

“My two cents.”

You’ve no doubt heard someone use the idiom, “My two cents,” when they’ve expressed their opinion. They might say, “My two cents…”

Often, when someone uses this idiom, it means they are sharing their opinion but are not being forceful about it. They’re probably just trying to be helpful.

The longer version of this idiom is, “put my two cents in,” and is most often heard in American English. It comes from the original English idiom, “to put in my two-penny worth,” which has exactly the same meaning.

Essentially, by saying that your opinion is only worth “two cents”, you are literally saying that it is not worth much at all.

However, this doesn’t really mean that you think your opinion is only worth two cents!

It is simply a way to politely and humbly give your opinion on something, hoping not to create an argument over the issue at hand.

If the person you offered your opinion to, disagrees with you… well, your opinion was only “two cents” anyway and they need not get upset with your disagreement.

The earliest written reference to “two cents” can be found in the Christian bible, in the story, “Lesson of the Widow’s Mite”.

In this story, several wealthy patrons of a temple donate large sums of money, while an extremely poor widow “only” donates two cents.

Jesus then favours the widow for donating all her money, though little compared to the amounts donated by the rich.

Another theory about the origins of “my two cents” is that it relates to another popular idiom, “a penny for your thoughts.” One penny being the physical form of one cent, of course.

“A penny for your thoughts,” is used to ask someone what they are thinking when they seem worried or distracted by deep thought. This idiom can be traced back to 16th-century England.

Essentially, if you were around in 16th-century England and someone “gave” you one penny to relate your thoughts, but you told too much… you just returned two pennies, or two cents!

Nowadays, “my two cents” is a way of humbly offering your opinion, however, and not related to “TMI” or “too much information”.

So, the next time you want to offer your opinion to someone without causing a stir, try first saying, “My two cents…”

You could also say, “Just my two cents,” after you’ve given someone your opinion - especially if they seem upset with what you said!

#superduperenglishidioms #englishidioms #idioms #proverbs