not worth a plug nickel

English

Alternative forms

• not worth a plugged nickel

Pronunciation

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Adjective

not worth a plug nickel

1. (chiefly US, idiomatic) Having no or almost no value; worthless.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:worthless

   • 1975 Sep. 25, Vincent Canby, "Redford a CIA Eccentric in Three Days of Condor" (film review), New York Times, p. 60:

     In the screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr., and David Rayfiel, Turner very early on stumbles upon the existence of a kind of super-C.I.A. within the C.I.A., after which his life is not worth a plug nickel.

Usage notes

• Of the alternative forms of this idiom, "not worth a plugged nickel" has a longer usage history than "not worth a plug nickel."

Synonyms

• not worth a brass farthing

Related terms

• don't take any wooden nickels
• plug nickel / plugged nickel