penny vs purse

penny

noun
  • Money in general. 

  • In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₂₄₀ of a pound sterling or Irish pound before decimalisation, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: d. 

  • In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p. 

  • A unit of nail size, said to be either the cost per 100 nails, or the number of nails per penny. Abbreviation: d. 

  • In various countries, a small-denomination copper or brass coin. 

  • In the US and (formerly) Canada, a one-cent coin, worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a dollar. Abbreviation: ¢. 

  • In Ireland, a coin worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p. 

verb
  • To circumvent the tripping of an electrical circuit breaker by the dangerous practice of inserting a coin in place of a fuse in a fuse socket. 

  • During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to drop a penny in a person's drink such that they must finish it (or some such variation thereof); commonly associated with crewdates at Oxford and swaps at Cambridge. 

  • To jam a door shut by inserting pennies between the doorframe and the door. 

purse

noun
  • A quantity of money given for a particular purpose. 

  • A specific sum of money in certain countries: formerly 500 piastres in Turkey or 50 tomans in Persia. 

  • A small bag for carrying money. 

  • A handbag (small bag usually used by women for carrying various small personal items) 

verb
  • To press (one's lips) in and together so that they protrude. 

  • To draw up or contract into folds or wrinkles; to pucker; to knit. 

  • To put into a purse. 

How often have the words penny and purse occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )