What it means
Means popping to the loo, usually for a quick wee, said in that polite, slightly posh way people use when they don’t want to be too graphic. It comes from the days when some public toilets charged an actual penny to get in. Now it’s mostly a cheeky throwback, something your gran says, or you when you’re bursting in the pub.
Usage examples
"Hang on, I need to spend a penny before we leg it to the chippy. If I sprint down the High Street like this, I’ll end up on Crimewatch"
"My gran tapped my shoulder at the church coffee morning in Tunbridge Wells, asked me to mind her handbag and the slice of Victoria sponge on her plate while she spent a penny, and was back in three minutes flat with the vicar in tow telling jokes about the new organist."
"On the long train from Glasgow to Penzance my mother announced she had to spend a penny twice between Birmingham and Bristol, queued patiently outside the door of the cramped carriage toilet each time, and returned to her seat reporting back to the family about the strange smell of disinfectant."
"Give us two secs, I'm just off to spend a penny before the film starts and then I'm all yours."
"Auntie Jean leaned over her tea, said she was going to spend a penny, and vanished toward the pub loos with that dignified little hurry people do when it's actually urgent."
Where it comes from
It comes from old British public toilets where you literally had to pay a penny to get in, often through a coin lock on the cubicle door. The money bit died off ages ago, but the phrase hung on as a polite, faintly old-school way of saying you're nipping for a wee.
This expression also appears in
