turn an honest penny

verb

To earn money by honest methods.

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Meanings

verbturn an honest penny (third-person singular simple present turns an honest penny, present participle turning an honest penny, simple past and past participle turned an honest penny)

present singular third person turns an honest penny · participle present turning an honest penny · participle past turned an honest penny · past turned an honest penny

  1. To earn money by honest methods.

    My client is an infant, a poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny.

    1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[15]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC
Cite this entry
APA

turn an honest penny. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20an%20honest%20penny

MLA

“turn an honest penny.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20an%20honest%20penny. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “turn an honest penny,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20an%20honest%20penny.

Source: turn an honest penny on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.