Meanings
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of penny
plural pennyings
- uncountableOxbridge slangThe activity of pennying in general, as part of a meal or drinking game, whereby dropping a penny in a person's drink means that they must finish it (or some such variation thereof); commonly associated with crewdates at Oxford and swaps at Cambridge.
The game, in which participants must ‘save the queen' by downing their drink if a penny is dropped into it, is already banned in most dining halls. However, the revelation that permitting pennying is now a criminal offence may mean that even stricter policies will now be enforced.
2010 October 28, Eleanor Dickinson, Andrew Georgiou, The Cambridge Student, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2016 - countableuncommonOxbridge slangAn act of pennying, as part of a meal or drinking game.
Cite this entry
pennying. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pennying
“pennying.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pennying. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pennying,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pennying.
Source: pennying on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.