A Pretty Penny. Essentially, peanuts are one of the smallest things that still derive any value – and ‘if you pay peanuts, you only get monkeys’ became a phrase that suggested that poor pay would only ever get you poor workers. "Peanut gallery" may also refer to the stream of open comments visible on certain types of blogs. The term originated back in the theatre, where the cheapest seats were those way at the bottom floor and where people purchased peanuts because they were the cheapest snack. Definition: a large or considerable amount of money. Learn more. I am not going to work for peanuts . A prostrate southern Brazilian plant (Arachis hypogaea) widely cultivated in tropical and warm temperate regions, having yellow flowers on stalks that bend over so that the seed pods ripen underground. 2. In recent times, the term has taken on new meanings with the advent of social networks and online chat rooms. Offering poor recompense for employment leads to employing poor staff who will deliver poor results. idiom definition: 1. a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning that is different from the…. Please help me to understand the meaning of "everything is all MoonPies and salted peanuts" in this context: “Toby.” A brief pause. “Don’t even try. If they disapproved of the performance, they would throw the peanuts. The edible, nutlike, oily seed of this plant, used for food and as a source of oil. nut (pē′nŭt′) n. 1. See more words with the same meaning: money . peanuts: [noun - plural] very little money. Howdy Doody, a show that started in the 1940's (not 50's), the children in the crowd were considered the "Peanut Gallery." Origin: United Kingdom, 1900s