tuppence

   A variant spelling of ‘two pence’, representing the normal pronunciation of those words when they describe a sum of money. British speakers still talk about ‘not caring tuppence’ whether something happens or not, using tuppence to mean ‘Very little’. The word has roughly that meaning when used as an affectionate nickname, usually to a child. Mariana, by Monica Dickens, has: ‘She began to grow. Bus-conductors no longer addressed her as “Tuppence”,’ Thirteen Days, by Ian Jefferies, has ‘you tuppeny tit’ used as an insult between men. ‘Tit’ normally refers in slang to the female breast. Here it is probably meant to suggest something soft, while the ‘tuppeny’ reference means ‘of little value’.