Pronounced: [as it sounds], noun
Notes: This phrase has nothing to do with diets (heh); it is one of the phrases that I have read, but I didn’t know the proper definition
Yesterday’s word
The word catchpenny is “a trinket; something made to sell readily at a low price, regardless of value or use”
First usage
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
Background / Comments
Our word comes from the phrase “catch a penny” — something that sells at a low price would indeed catch pennies. Back in those days, there was also a halfpenny and a farthing (a quarter of a penny).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 