Grumpytoad Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I'm watching Twentieth Century (1934) for the first time. Fun stuff! One actor says to another "That kind of acting's for pins in a basement" Usually I'm good at figuring out old slang, but this has me stumped. Can anyone here translate for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyDan Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 30 minutes ago, Grumpytoad said: I'm watching Twentieth Century (1934) for the first time. Fun stuff! One actor says to another "That kind of acting's for pins in a basement" Usually I'm good at figuring out old slang, but this has me stumped. Can anyone here translate for me? I found this same question posed on WordReference.com and this reply sounds the most sensible to me: A good play is performed on a stage in a theater. A very bad play is performed in any open space: perhaps an empty basement. The audience for a good play pays dollars (or pounds, in the UK) to watch a play. The audience pays only pennies to watch a very bad play. The cheapest form of payment was "pins". A long time ago, when one penny would buy a whole apple or a whole loaf of bread, people bought and sold cheaper things for "pins" (the metal things that you use in sewing) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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