English

Alternative forms

• plugged nickel

Noun

plug nickel ‎(plural plug nickels)

1. (chiefly US, colloquial) A nearly worthless amount.
   • 1997 March 6, Neil Munro, "Putting a Price Tag on Privacy," washingtontechnology.com (retrieved 28 Sep 2008):

     Others estimate that each consumer's data is virtually worthless to the consumer; "Most of [consumers'] information, on an open market, is not worth a plug nickel," said Bruce Belair, a Washington-based lawyer.

   • 2002 Feb. 19, "Opinion: State Must Fast-track MTA $ Plan," New York Daily News (retrieved 28 Sep 2008):

     The Senate can easily release these MTA bonds to the financial markets to stop subway fare hikes—and it won't cost the state a plug nickel.

   • 2006 April 24, Steve Schultze, "Dolphins in mural could be rescued," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (retrieved 28 Sep 2008):

     There's no additional money for saving the mural, he said. "I have no intention of spending another plug nickel on it."

Usage notes

• Often used in negative constructions, especially "not worth a plug nickel."
• The alternative form "plugged nickel" has been in use longer than "plug nickel", although "plug" has begun to supercede "plugged". Syntactically, a more correct term would be an "unplugged nickel" in reference to the fact that the "plug" (silver center disc) was removed, but this term is very rare.

Synonyms

• farthing
• brass farthing
• red cent
• two cents

Derived terms

• not worth a plug nickel

Related terms

• don't take any wooden nickels

Translations