I don't get to understand the following expression "in for a penny, in for a pound" that appears in the book "The spectacles, Simone Lee Green". This is the fragment of text: She was a highly popular young woman at university. She was attractive and rich, so she had her pick of all the handsome male students. She broke hearts because she would have a different boyfriend every month. She also only dated the rich boys. Once she had got what she wanted from the innocent boys -- a new dress, a piece of jewellery, or a weekend's holiday - she would move on to someone new. The other females quickly grew to dislike her; they were jealous of her power over men. The girls' favourite name for her was In for a Penny, in for a pound." The men, though, did not have a bad word to say about her.
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Someone told me this, but I still don't understand: Why go in for something trivial when you can get away with something bigger. Originally with reference to the fact that if one owed a penny, one might as well owe a pound as the penalties for non-payment were virtually identical in severity. I always understood it in regard to the idea that one could be prosecuted for stealing a loaf, the same as for stealing a lamb. (Both convictions could mean transportation to the Penal Colony in Australia).– محمدCommented Apr 8 at 10:34
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1In the passage you quoted, it's being used as a pun instead of its ordinary meaning. Is that what you're asking about?– Dan GetzCommented Apr 8 at 10:50
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5I have misgivings about this text. It's not in Google Books, and Google Internet has nothing about any author Simone Lee Green. Much of the phrasing looks more like a good translation rather than something written by a native Anglophone, but the capitalisation of Penny is unusual (unless the girl's name is actually Penny, but surely the OP would have told us if that were so).– FumbleFingersCommented Apr 8 at 11:38
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5I assume the girl's name is Penny as that's the only thing that makes sense. But if the OP knows the literal meaning, this seems more a question for Literature SE.– Stuart FCommented Apr 8 at 11:56
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2@MichaelHarvey: You're only saying that because otherwise the cited text doesn't make much sense. But regarding the question, it makes no sense at all that 1) OP would be unaware of the name, OR 2) OP wouldn't think to tell us about the name.– FumbleFingersCommented Apr 8 at 15:20
1 Answer
Let's start with the usual meaning of the expression.
Pounds and pence (pennies) are the units of currency of the United Kingdom. The penny is the smaller unit, with 100 pennies to the pound, just as there are 100 cents to the US dollar.
We use the word "in" to mean getting involved in something. When money is involved, being "in on something" can mean that you have invested in something financially, or placed a bet in a gambling game (which is where the expression "count me in" comes from).
So, "in for a penny, in for a pound" means that if you are going to put the smallest amount of investment into something, you might as well put more. We use the expression figuratively in non-monetary settings to mean that you might as well put your all into something (effort, time etc). A comparable expression might be "if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well".
In the context of your example, it seems like this common phrase is being subverted slightly. The girl being talked about is what some might call a "gold digger" - that is someone who pursues rich men for their money. So she is "in" (involved in this pursuit) for money, be it a penny or a pound. I noticed that the word 'Penny' in the quote is capitalised, so I'm guessing that the girl's name is Penny, and that is why it was an apt nickname for her. Perhaps the inference is that the rich boys are "in" it for her (Penny) while she is in it for their money (the pound) - or maybe that's overthinking it?
