Ha'p'orth
noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A halfpennyworth; the amount that can be bought for a halfpenny. Ireland, UK, dated
"At an old stubborn Root I chanc’d to tug, When the Dean threw me this Tobacco-plug: A longer ha’p’orth never did I see; This, dearest Sheelah, thou shalt share with me."
- 2 the amount that can be bought for a halfpenny wordnet
- 3 A small amount. Ireland, UK, dated, informal
"It’s very simple. Not because our people are ignorant and ungrateful, as you always explained it to yourself, but because in all your fads, if you’ll excuse the word, there wasn’t a ha’p’orth of love and kindness!"
- 4 A foolish person. Ireland, UK, dated, slang
"2000, Diary (16 Feb 2000) Frank Dobson (or possibly not) in The Guardian read at http://www.guardian.co.uk/mayor/Story/0,,190773,00.html#article_continue Mrs Dobson shouted: “Put on your anorak, Frank, you daft ha’p’orth, the maroon one I fetched you for your 60th, or you’ll catch your death.”"
Example
More examples"At an old stubborn Root I chanc’d to tug, When the Dean threw me this Tobacco-plug: A longer ha’p’orth never did I see; This, dearest Sheelah, thou shalt share with me."
Etymology
Abbreviation of halfpennyworth. Compare boatswain.
Related phrases
More for "ha'p'orth"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.