Plural of catchpenny; cheap, worthless articles or schemes designed to trick people into spending money on something with little value.
From 'catch' + 'penny,' originally 17th-century slang for a trick or scheme to catch someone's penny (their money). Evolved to describe any cheap commodity or scam.
Catchpennies were the original clickbait—trinkets sold at street fairs and markets with sensational or misleading advertising. The term perfectly captures the predatory logic: design something so cheaply that you only need to trick a few penny-pinchers to profit.
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