penny-plainadj.
/ˌpɛnɪˈpleɪn/, U.S. /ˈpɛniˈpleɪn/ Plain and unpretentious.Originally used with reference to prints of characters sold for toy theatres, costing one penny for black-and-white ones, and twopence for coloured ones.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > simplicity > [adjective]
plainc1330
simplea1382
neat1453
natural1553
austere1581
bare1583
unintricated1649
severe1665
clever1674
light1740
ungaudy1795
unassuminga1807
inartificial1823
quiet1838
unpretentious1838
unabstract1840
uninvolved1853
penny-plain1854
simplex munditiis1874
unstagy1882
clinical1932
shibui1947
understated1957
1854 Househ. Words 3 Dec. 315/2 They shall leave the penny plain and twopence coloured style, and the smooth album landscapes and poonah exteriors, and smirking heads.
1859 G. A. Sala Twice round Clock 253 The Scala..with its rabbit-hutch-like private boxes, whose doors are scrawled over with the penny plain and twopence coloured-like coats of arms of the..Lombardian nobility.
1920 ‘O. Douglas’ Penny Plain vi. 60 Having been all her life so very ‘twopence coloured’ she wants the ‘penny plain’ for a change.
1974 ‘S. Woods’ Done to Death 71 A track led to a penny-plain stone cottage.
2000 Times 28 Dec. ii. 17/1 Much of this penny-plain look is obviously due to constraints of budget and size.
Derivatives
ˈpenny-ˈplainness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > simplicity > [noun]
plainness1549
austerity1581
simplicity1593
severity1713
simplex munditiis1740
chastity1760
chasteness1889
penny-plainness1920
sabi1932
wabi1934
understatement1967
1920 ‘O. Douglas’ Penny Plain vi. 60 There is no mistake about our ‘penny-plainness’—it jumps to the eye!
1990 Independent (Nexis) 25 Jan. (Arts section) 11 To a certain extent, the film's penny-plainness is due to technical and economic limitations.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1854