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Origin documented
“Spend a penny”
What it means
To go to the lavatory.
Where it comes from
The Great Exhibition of 1851 installed public conveniences designed by George Jennings, charging one penny for admission. Some 800,000 visitors paid it, and the coin-operated lock spread across Britain from there.
How sure are we?
Well documented, and the mechanism outlived the coin. Penny-in-the-slot locks remained on British public lavatories long after decimalisation made the price nominal, which is why the phrase survived the currency it names.