Idiom
look as if one had lost a shilling and found sixpence
Meaning
To look very disappointed.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He looks as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence.”
“You look as if you lost a shilling and found sixpence today.”
“When the team lost the final game, the captain looked as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence.”
“After opening the small birthday gift she had waited weeks for, the child looked as if she had lost a shilling and found sixpence.”
“The chef looked as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence when he realized the restaurant was completely empty on a Friday night.”
“Upon receiving the news that the project was cancelled, the manager sat at his desk looking as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence.”
Examples
simple
“He looks as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence.”
“You look as if you lost a shilling and found sixpence today.”
contextual
“When the team lost the final game, the captain looked as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence.”
“After opening the small birthday gift she had waited weeks for, the child looked as if she had lost a shilling and found sixpence.”
“The chef looked as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence when he realized the restaurant was completely empty on a Friday night.”
complex
“Upon receiving the news that the project was cancelled, the manager sat at his desk looking as if he had lost a shilling and found sixpence.”
Origin
The expression originates from pre-decimal British currency, in which a sixpence was valued at exactly half a shilling. The phrasing describes the specific facial geometry of a man who has experienced a minor windfall immediately following a larger financial disappointment, resulting in a net loss of fifty per cent. It is the look of one who has been spared total catastrophe but remains mathematically worse off than when he started.
Key words
Related idioms
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