C2idiominformalstudyIELTS-friendly
the penny dropped
USUK
someone finally understood something after a period of confusion
Mainly British and informal. Usually in the past, often with 'finally' or 'then', to describe a sudden moment of understanding.
In context
I read the grammar rule three times, and then the penny dropped.
When she saw the price list, the penny finally dropped: the 'free' trip wasn't free at all.
More idioms about study
- a steep learning curvea situation where you must learn a lot of new things very quickly
- get the hang ofto learn how to do something, especially after some practice
- get your head aroundto manage to understand something that is complicated or surprising
- hit the booksto start studying hard, especially before an exam
- it's not rocket scienceused to say that something is not difficult to understand or do