penny for your thoughts
What's on mind?
A penny for your thoughts is an invitation to share what's on your mind, typically addressed to someone who appears lost in thought or unusually quiet: You've been staring out the window for ten minutes—penny for your thoughts?
The phrase is gentle and slightly old-fashioned, suggesting genuine interest rather than prying.
- wonderingFeeling curiosity about something
- curiousEager to learn
- musingReflective contemplation
- daydreamConscious fantasy while awake
- ponderThink deeply about
moment of silence · distant · far away look · reflection · contemplation · faraway · preoccupied · reverie · inner world · question · quiet · introspective · lost · stare · blank stare · brooding · mindful · asking
penny for your thoughtsspit it out
Command to speak plainly
out with it · speak up · confess · interrogation · inquisition
penny for your thoughtssave it
Dismissive rebuff of excuses
mind your own business · spare me · zip it · shut up · hold your tongue
penny for your thoughtswho asked you
Dismissal of unsolicited advice
whatever · nobody cares · indifference · talk to the hand · cold shoulder
penny, pennies, thought, thoughts, thoughtful, thoughtfully, thoughtfulness, thoughtless, thoughtlessly