Meaning of bad penny | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A person or thing which is unpleasant, disreputable, or otherwise unwanted, especially one which repeatedly appears at inopportune times.
   idiomatic
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see bad, penny: A counterfeit or damaged penny.

Examples

“"Felix Marchand'll have⟳ much money—bad penny as he is," continued Christine in her normal voice.”

“Pierce remembered Hilda's prophecy that her indigent husband would turn⟳ up, like⟳ a bad penny.”

“But as the perennial bad penny of British political life, he keeps turning up at embarrassing moments.”

“And in respect⟳ to bad halfpence he advises that none be taken at turnpikes, whose keepers buy⟳ bad halfpence by the pound, and circulate them largely on the specious principle of giving and taking–that is–they take⟳ one bad penny from a horseman to day, and when he changes a sixpence to-morrow, give⟳ him five, none of which they probably ever see⟳ again, until they are found in that quarter where they can buy⟳ them by the weight.”

CEFR level