[hey-puh-nee, heyp-nee] 
noun, plural half⋅pen⋅nies for 1; half⋅pence [hey-puh
ns] for 2; adjective | 1. | a bronze coin of the United Kingdom, equal to half a penny: use phased out in 1984. |
| 2. | the sum of half a penny. |
| 3. | of the price or value of a halfpenny. |
| 4. | of little value; worthless: a halfpenny matter. |
| 5. | British Informal. (of newspapers) sensational, esp. morbidly or offensively so. |