Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
a. (alternative spelling of pennyante English)
Usage examples of "penny-ante".
I'm no gambling man myself, much, and have never had the skill or nerve for sharping anyway, but in my time I've seen 'em all: stud games in Abilene livery stables with guns and gold-pokes down on the blanket, nap schools from Ballarat to the Bay, penny-ante blackjack in political country houses (with D'Israeli dealing and that oily little worm Bryant planting aces in my unsuspecting pockets, damn him), and watched the sharks at work with cold decks, shaved edges, marked backs, and everything up their sleeves bar a trained midget - and you may take my word for it, the last place on God's earth you'd want to sit on the Queen of Spades or try to juggle the stakes is Grandmama's drawing-room after dinner.
At 12:15 by his watch, by the clock over the rear-room worktable, and by nine digital clock-radios he'd rejected as too penny-ante for the effort, he had opened the rear door, picked up two television sets-a Philco and an RCA-and stepped outside to the sudden dead-white glare of four headlights.
At 12:15 by his watch, by the clock over the rear-room worktable, and by nine digital clock-radios he'd rejected as too penny-ante for the effort, he had opened the rear door, picked up two television sets –.