noun Informal.
- a cent, as representative of triviality: His promise isn’t worth a red cent.
noun
- (used with a negative) informal, mainly US a cent considered as a trivial amount of money (esp in the phrases not have a red cent, not worth a red cent, etc)
obsolete type of copper penny, 1839, American English, from red (adj.1) + cent. “Red” has been the color of copper, brass, and gold since ancient times.
see under not worth a dime.