As right as ninepence

Posted by James Briggs on September 29, 2005

In Reply to: As right as ninepence posted by Marcus on September 28, 2005

: Can anybody tell me where the saying "as right as ninepence" came from?

According to Brewer, this is a corruption of 'nice/right as nine-pins'. 'Nine-pins' is a game (skittles) in which the nine 'men' are set up with precise exactitude in three rows.