There are many times in life when people are buried deep in their own thoughts, and their loved ones might wonder what is going through their mind. Jogging them out of their blue funk could be important, or getting them to share their ideas on a situation is often prefaced with the words a penny for your thoughts. This is a saying that has been around a long time, and it might be surprising where it originated.
The modern penny was not quite what people were talking about when the phrase originated, but the idea of exchanging money for a person giving up what is on their mind is still the same. In the days when the phrase originated, it was in the heart of modern England where the penny part of the phrase was first heard. While they called it a penige in the seventh century, it was still a small coin of some value that could be offered in return for a purchase.
Now that the monetary amount origin has been taken care of, it is time to begin exploring the thought side of the saying. There is no documentation to help solve when or even if a specific person coined this popular phrase, but there was a book where it is first noted. In the sixteenth century, Sir Thomas More’s book, Four Last Things, was published after his death. In one area of the book, a man was offered money if he would speak. The phrase a penny for your thoughts is how it was written to convey the concept, and this is the first place where it was put down permanently.
Traveling to more modern times, King Henry VIII is involved in the next part of the journey in this lingering phrase. Due to his marital difficulties, the king was eventually excommunicated from the church. One of his favorite writers and performers was a man named John Heywood who collected sayings throughout his life. Heywood’s prominence due to Henry’s favor catapulted him into a bit of fame, and his book of sayings became a popular item to own in the latter half of the sixteenth century. The offer of money for thoughts was popularized at that time as people read through his book and found sayings they also enjoyed and used.
There is no one person saying this phrase for the first time to credit with it, but it is believed to have been quite popular for many centuries before it was ever used in a written work. While More did use it in his book, Heywood is actually given credit for its widespread popularity within England. His book was a popular one for about a decade before he was forced to flee England when Henry’s son, Edward, ascended to the throne, but that could have also assisted with spreading the phrase further.
However it came down to the modern world, the phrase will continue to be useful as long as there are pennies to trade for deep thoughts.
