death penny
名词 n.
英 /ˈdɛθ ˌpɛni/
美 /ˈdɛθ ˌpɛni/
英文释义
名词 n.
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A coin placed on the eyelid of a deceased person to keep the eye closed.
— Afterwards the other seemed to die too, the breath leaving his body, the blood ebbing from his cheek, until his enemy came and stood one day looking down upon him, while he looked back from half-closed eyes, upon which they had already put death pennies, to keep down the lids.
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Synonym of Charon's obol (“a coin placed in or on the mouth of a deceased person as a bribe or payment for Charon, the ferryman of Hades”).
— You will not see him now, till a pinch of dust has been sprinkled on your brow, and the death-penny put into your mouth. Then, when you have crossed the dark river, he will be waiting for you on the other side.
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The memorial plaque, a circular bronze plaque presented to the next of kin of British Empire personnel killed in World War I.
— Government-inspired tokens of appreciation, such as the so-called ‘death penny’ or bronze plaque announced in 1918 and finally distributed in 1919 to next of kin, were not always accepted with the gratitude expected. Violet Baker had lost her beloved husband, Sam, and she was in no mood to be thankful. ‘My mother was given the death penny and I know that she was disgusted,’ recalled Violet. ‘“That for a husband,” she said.’
词形变化
词源
From death + penny. Noun sense 3 (“memorial plaque”) refers to its superficial resemblance to the one-penny coin (which was much smaller) in circulation in the United Kingdom at the time.
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数据来源: Wiktionary