APAD: The penny drops.

Meaning:

    A belated realization of something after a period of confusion or ignorance.

 

Background:

   The Oxford English Dictionary states that this phrase originated by way of

   allusion to the mechanism of penny-in-the-slot machines. The OED's earliest

   citation of a use of the phrase with the `now I understand' meaning, is from

   The Daily Mirror August 1939:

 

     And then the penny dropped, and I saw his meaning!

 

   The image of someone waiting for a penny-in-the-slot mechanism (which often

   jammed) to operate does sound plausible and, if that isn't the origin, it is

   difficult to imagine what is.

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

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My 20s and 30s were spent in confusion: too many open questions and things that

I didn't know that I didn't know. Into middle age, however, it felt like pennies

started to drop left and right. It's hard to know where to begin.

 

Monday, Jorkey the Spaniard asked me to show him the trap-and-roll from the

turtle bottom position facing the opponent. I learned it from Henry Akin's

videos three years ago and have since enjoyed taking 200+lbs guys down

regularly.

 

As the guy on top tried to grab my chest, I trapped his arm under my armpit and

put up my opposite leg as usual. His 140lbs was too light, however, to trigger

my knee-jerk reaction to pull him forward by digging my heel into the mat. I

naturally did a wrestling sit-out and rolled him directly onto his back. No

pulling at all. I never thought it could be so effortless. A giant penny just

dropped!

 

(The picture shows not exactly what I did. It just gives an idea.)

good & clear picture! hope the mat is thick 4 the fall ;-) )

life is so unpredictable & withManyPennies&Boots to drop ;-)

so I pray 4 them 2drop before I lose hearing completely ;-)

"boots/shoes to drop" Good usage!

Mats are so nice that one loves to fall into them:-)

It is a GIANT penny:) Like this metaphor！Revelations come

little by little, penny by penny:)

Thx. yes, especially the drop of the other shoe …

I finally know ,the meaning of France is bacon

This is a sad story.....

When I was a child, I heard my father said to me: "Knowledge is power, France is bacon."

For more than a decade after that, the second half of this famous quote stuck with me: What does it mean? Why can it be combined with the first half of the sentence? Is there an indescribable connection between knowledge and power, between France and bacon? I could not understand.

However, whenever I mentioned the phrase "Knowledge is power, France is bacon" to adults, they just nodded in agreement. Or when someone says "Knowledge is power" I'd be followed by "France is bacon"...but no one ever looked at me weirdly and thought I had said something weird, in stead  just thoughtfully agreed.
 

I also especially asked a teacher what the phrase "Knowledge is power, France is bacon" means, but the answer I got was a ten-minute explanation of "Knowledge is power", which didn't touch on anything at all about " France is bacon".  When I timidly reminded the teacher with the sentence: "France is bacon?" .  He only said "That's right." I was only twelve years old and didn't have the courage and confidence to ask any further questions.

I was desperate.

From that moment, I knew that I would never understand the peculiar meaning behind this enigmatic statement, and I gave up the pursuit, just treating it as a mystery that I could talk about without thinking about its meaning. I didn't realize what was going on until I stumbled across this phrase in a book years later.

"Knowledge is power, Francis Bacon"

At that moment, the penny drops

haha, a mondegreen from "lady Mondegreen" " that came from

mishearing of "laid him on the green"  coined by Sylvia Wright

So everyone could mishear, not just those with hearing issue. 

After I saw the pictures you posted for your story,

the penny drops! Well done!

You made my day.

Thx 4 coming & supporting! ;-))

haha, we don't like "167b" symbol in content alone ;-))

Thank you for greeting. I’m coming to learn English.:D

问好西岛

Learn we all shall. thx.

167b？That’s huge! A heavy penny is hard to drop. Haha

Could not agree more. : )

Good one. You rock.

Yes. As long as we observe with patience.

I learned it from you but didn't know the story. Well done!

Thanks and welcome!

Thanks. It's a gentle art :-)