Before I Say Good-Byeを読んでいます。BrennanとSclafaniは刑事です。
“Mr. Lang, we appreciate how busy you are,” George Brennan said soothingly.
“But I’m sure you can understand our need to ask you a few questions. You went to see Nell MacDermott yesterday, didn’t you?”
Lang raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I did. What of it?”
He didn’t like having that brought up, Sclafani thought. Up till now, he’s been on his own turf and feeling pretty sure of himself. But all his money and looks and background won’t be worth a plugged nickel if we can hang a quadruple murder on him, and he knows it, not worth a plugged nickel.
"plugged nickel" の意味は何でしょう？ "plugged" を辞書で引くと次の意味が出てきました。
・WordNetadjective: (of a coin) altered by the insertion of a plug of base metal
すると、"plugged nickel" は変造された５セントの様ですが、辞書をよく見ると "plugged nickel" で次の意味があることが分かりました。
・The Dictionary of American Slang: Valueless : His word isn't worth a plugged nickel
・McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: worth little or nothing. This new battery is not worth a plugged nickel.
Before I Say Good-Byeを読んでいます。次の引用文のBrennanとSclafaniは刑事です。
Behind the facade of disdain and casual indifference, it was clear to both Brennan and Sclafani that Robert Walters was nervous and agitated. Everything he did was just a little too precise, too perfect to be anything other than a well-rehearsed act.
I’d be nervous too, Brennan thought. The big guys in almost two dozen firms just like his already had copped a plea, choosing the easy way out of this investigation. He knew that as a result, most of them would end up with a slap on the wrist, getting off by paying fines.
"plea" は罪状認否の "plea of guilty"/"plea of not guilty" でも使われるようの懇願の意味がありますが、"cop a plea" となると何でしょう？
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to admit to having committed a crime in order to avoid being punished for a more serious crime
・Dictionary: to plead guilty to a lesser charge as a means of bargaining one's way out of standing trial for a more serious charge; plea-bargain.
以前（4/28/2016）に取り上げた "cop out" を思い出しました。"cop a plea" と意味は似ていますね。
Word Detective に次の説明がありました。
To "cop out" meant to confess and accept ("cop") a deal with the police. Since most such deals involve entering a guilty plea to legal charges, "copping out" in this sense is also known as "copping a plea." But the important point is that the "cop" involved in "cop out" is a verb meaning "to take," and not the police sort of "cop," although the two share a common source.
Wiping away a tear, I said, this is the sweetest card I've ever received."
"Really?" he said, grinning broadly.
"What does it say?"
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