nice as ninepence

adjective

Perfectly all right; fine.

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Meanings

adjectivenice as ninepence (not comparable)
  1. not comparablesimilePerfectly all right; fine.

    She had been mistress of the farm so long that it would be hard for her to play second fiddle, but give her time and she'd be as good as new butter and as nice as ninepence, he said.

    1913, Ethel Carnie, Miss Nobody, page 68
  2. not comparablesimileNeat, tidy, in order.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
kemptorderlyregularshipshapeshipshape and bristol fashion

Origin

Corruption of nice as ninepins, from the neat and precise ordering of the skittles in the game of ninepins.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nice as ninepence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice%20as%20ninepence

MLA

“nice as ninepence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice%20as%20ninepence. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nice as ninepence,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice%20as%20ninepence.

Source: nice as ninepence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.