Ready money (i.e. cash) has been referred to in the United Kingdom as "dosh" since at least 1953;
Brewer equates this term with "paying through the nose",
dosh being a Russian-Jewish prefix referring to the nose, that is, paying in cash. The phrase "ready money" has also given rise to the far more popular "readies", though there is debate as to whether this is an obvious reference to the availability of the currency or the red and white colour of the British ten shilling Treasury note of 1914. The related term "cash on the nail" is said to refer to 17th century trading stands in
Bristol and elsewhere, over which deals were done and cash changed hands. Another British term for money is "Brass" it is believed to have originated from the region’s scrap dealers looking for materials that were valuable, like brass. It’s related to the phrase “Where there's muck, there's brass.” Other general terms for money include "bread" (Cockney
rhyming slang 'bread & honey', money; this also became dough, by derivation from the same root), "cabbage", "clam", "milk", "dosh", "dough", "shillings", "frogskins", "notes", "ducats" (pronounced "duckets"), "loot", "bones", "bar", "coin", "folding stuff", "honk", "lampshade", "lolly", "lucre"/"filthy lucre", "p", "moola/moolah", "mazuma", "paper", "scratch", "readies", "rhino" "
spondulicks/spondoolic(k)s/spondulix/spondoolies" and "wonga".
Quid (singular and plural) is used for
pound sterling or £, in British slang. It is thought to derive from the Latin phrase "
quid pro quo". A pound (£1) may also be referred to as a "nicker" or "
nugget" (rarer). Some other pre-
decimal United Kingdom coins or denominations became commonly known by
colloquial and slang terms, perhaps the most well known being "bob" for a
shilling. A
farthing was a "mag", three farthings was "the sun, moon and stars" (three far things...), a silver
threepence was a "joey" and the later nickel-brass threepence was called a "thruppenny bit" (, or ); a
sixpence was a "tanner", the
two-shilling coin or florin was a "two-bob bit", the two shillings and sixpence coin or
half-crown was a "half dollar" and the
crown was a "dollar". Slang terms are not generally used for the decimal coins that replaced them but in some parts of the country, "bob" continues to represent one-twentieth of a pound, that is five new pence and two bob is 10p. For all denominations "p" is used for pence. In the United Kingdom the term "shrapnel" may be used for an inconvenient pocketful of change because of the association with a
shrapnel shell and "wad", "wedge" or "wodge" for a bundle of banknotes, with "tightwad" a derogatory term for someone who is reluctant to spend money. Similar to "shrapnel" the use of "washers" in
Scotland denotes a quantity of low value coinage. Quantities of UK 1p and 2p coins may be referred to as "Copper", 5p, 10p, 20p, and 50p coins as "Silver" and £1 and £2 coins as "Bronze" due to their colour and apparent base metal type. "Brass" is northern English slang for any amount of money. The one pound note, while still in circulation in
Scotland, was occasionally referred to as a "Sheet" and thus the ten shilling note as a "Half Sheet". More commonly the ten shilling note was a "ten bob note" or, in London, "half a bar". "As bent as a nine bob note" is or was a common colloquial phrase used to describe something or someone crooked or counterfeit, or alternatively (and now considered offensive) a gay man who is extremely
camp. In pub culture five and ten pound notes are sometimes called "blue beer tokens" and "brown beer tokens" respectively. Many of the following are largely obsolete, or otherwise not in common use. £5 is commonly called a "fiver", and more rarely a "Lady" (short for "
Lady Godiva") due to
rhyming slang or a "Deep Sea Diver" or a "Winston" from the image of
Winston Churchill on the back of the new note introduced in 2016. £10 is commonly known as a "tenner" or, more uncommonly, a "Darwin", due to the image of
Charles Darwin on the back (issued from 7 November 2000 and withdrawn from circulation on 1 March 2018). Other terms used are a "Cockle" from Cock and Hen — ten and "Ayrton", from Ayrton Senna i.e. tenner. £15 is sometimes referred to as a Commodore as it is worth three "Ladies" (see above) after
The Commodores song
Three Times a Lady. £20 is sometimes referred to as a "score", although strictly this is not a slang term for money, as 'score' is a normal word for twenty. £20 is sometimes known as a "Bobby" from
Bobby Moore (rhymes with
score). £25 is known as a "pony". In city of London trading floor slang it was also known as a "roast" (two Ayrtons and a lady), a quarter or a daughter (rhyming with quarter). £50 is known as a "bullseye" (from the points value of the bullseye on a
darts board). £100 is sometimes referred to as a "ton" e.g. £400 would be called 4 ton. Also, a "century" or a "bill" have been used for this value. £500 is known as a "monkey". £1,000 is commonly referred to as a grand, e.g., £4,000 would be called 4 grand, or rarely in certain dialects as a "bag" (from the
rhyming slang "Bag of Sand"). In some cases, £1,000 is known as one large, i,e., £10,000 would be ten large. £2,000 has been known as an Archer, having been coined by
Rik Mayall's character Alan B'stard in TV comedy
The New Statesman. A "oner" (one-er) has referred to various amounts from one shilling to a pound, to now meaning £100 or £1,000, and a "big one" denoting £1,000. A "oncer" referred particularly to a one-pound note, now defunct. In
London financial culture, a billion pounds or, more often, US dollars, is referred to as a 'yard'. This derives from the old
British English word for a thousand million, a milliard, which has now been replaced by the
'short scale' name 'billion' from US English. The term 'million' for a million pounds or dollars is often dropped when it is clear from context. E.g. "He made three quid last year" would mean "He earned three million pounds". == United States ==