# Ah, the penny's dropped! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-the-pennys-dropped/82586 "2001-09-19T14:44:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-the-pennys-dropped/82586/1 "2001-09-19T14:44:21Z")
I’ve heard this expression occasionally in British English, apparently meaning that someone of presumably slow intellect has finally understood/ something has finally dawned on someone, etc. Can anyone tell me the exact meaning and origin of this expression? ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-the-pennys-dropped/82586/2 "2001-09-19T14:52:55Z")
Just a wild guess. It might possibly refer to the old arcade machines, such as one that has a mechanical band of monkeys. The monkeys just sit there staring off into space, until a penny is dropped in, at which point the arcade machine comes to life. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-the-pennys-dropped/82586/3 "2001-09-19T14:53:31Z")
My WAG would be that it would be that it is implying that the brain is like a coin-operated machine, once the penny drops (into the coin box), the machine springs into action. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-the-pennys-dropped/82586/4 "2001-09-19T14:59:42Z")
**The penny’s dropped** : Sometimes preceded by _at last_, and often by an exclamatory _ah!_ of satisfaction or relief. It is applied when someone has belatedly realised either what was meant by another’s witticism or, occasionally, the true significance or urgency of a situation. _I remember it from the 1920’s, but it probably dates from the very early 20th C._ But this deft catchphrase merits a second comment from a lively mind, ‘At last you understand what I said _or_ meant’ or ‘At last you’ve got the joke.’ From the early penny-in-the-slot machines that needed a jog to make them work. Still current. Source: **A Dictionary of Catchphrases** , Eric Partridge. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-the-pennys-dropped/82586/5 "2001-09-19T15:01:03Z")
Can’t tell you the origin but it means the same as, for example, a ‘light bulb moment’ and is not related to a persons intellect. There are many alternatives. “I just fell in” (presumably of Army origin) being one I hear occasionally – might be just South London but it’s probably in wider use than that. ---
**Author:** ![Walrus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/51bf81/32.png) [@Walrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walrus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-the-pennys-dropped/82586/6 "2001-09-20T17:29:52Z")
Another variant is “The light dawns” Walrus