the penny drops

Bedeutung

someone finally understands something after a while

Jemand versteht endlich etwas.

Beispiele

1. 1I stared at the maths problem for ages, and then suddenly the penny dropped.
2. 2Sometimes the penny drops only when you try to explain the idea to someone else.
3. 3Leo didn't understand why we were laughing, but after a minute the penny dropped and he laughed too.
4. 4Some pupils need three or four examples of a new rule before the penny drops.
5. 5My sister explained the plot twice, but the penny dropped only when we watched the film again.

Grammatik

Wird als Satz verwendet. Nur drops verändert sich: dropped, has dropped. Die Wendung the penny bleibt im Singular.