Initially suggested (Mar 2007) by a reader who tells me that the slang term 'biscuit', meaning £100, has been in use for several years, notably in the casino trade (thanks E). Bice could also occur in conjunction with other shilling slang, where the word bice assumes the meaning 'two', as in 'a bice of deaners', pronounced 'bicerdeaners', and with other money slang, for example bice of tenners, pronounced 'bicertenners', meaning twenty pounds.īig ben - ten pounds (£10) the sum, and a ten pound note - cockney rhyming slang.īiscuit = £100 or £1,000. Also shortened to beesum (from bees and, bees 'n', to beesum).īice/byce = two shillings (2/-) or two pounds or twenty pounds - probably from the French bis, meaning twice, which suggests usage is older than the 1900s first recorded and referenced by dictionary sources. Cockney rhyming slang from the late 1800s.
![tuppence ha penny card game rules tuppence ha penny card game rules](https://www.baractivity.com/user/products/shoveha-small.gif)
Cockney rhyming slang from 1960s and perhaps earlier since beehive has meant the number five in rhyming slang since at least the 1920s.īees (bees and honey) = money. Alternatively beer vouchers, which commonly meant pound notes, prior to their withdrawal.īeehive = five pounds (£5).
#Tuppence ha penny card game rules plus#
A to Z of Money SlangĪrcher = two thousand pounds (£2,000), late 20th century, from the Jeffrey Archer court case in which he was alleged to have bribed call-girl Monica Coughlan with this amount.Īyrton senna/ayrton = tenner (ten pounds, £10) - cockney rhyming slang created in the 1980s or early 90s, from the name of the peerless Brazilian world champion Formula One racing driver, Ayrton Senna (1960-94), who won world titles in 1988, 90 and 91, before his tragic death at San Marino in 1994.īag/bag of sand = grand = one thousand pounds (£1,000), seemingly recent cockney rhyming slang, in use from around the mid-1990s in Greater London perhaps more widely too.īar = a pound, from the late 1800s, and earlier a sovereign, probably from Romany gypsy 'bauro' meaning heavy or big, and also influenced by allusion to the iron bars use as trading currency used with Africans, plus a possible reference to the custom of casting of precious metal in bars.īender = sixpence (6d) Another slang term with origins in the 1800s when the coins were actually solid silver, from the practice of testing authenticity by biting and bending the coin, which would being made of near-pure silver have been softer than the fakes.īeer tokens = money. Some non-slang words are included where their origins are particularly interesting, as are some interesting slang money expressions which originated in other parts of the world, and which are now entering the English language. Many are now obsolete typically words which relate to pre-decimalisation coins, although some have re-emerged and continue to do so. Here are the most common and/or interesting British slang money words and expressions, with meanings, and origins where known. Backslang reverses the phonetic (sound of the) word, not the spelling, which can produce some strange interpretations, and was popular among market traders, butchers and greengrocers. Certain lingua franca blended with 'parlyaree' or 'polari', which is basically underworld slang.īackslang also contributes several slang money words. This contributed to the development of some 'lingua franca' expressions, i.e., mixtures of Italian, Greek, Arabic, Yiddish (Jewish European/Hebrew dialect), Spanish and English which developed to enable understanding between people of different nationalities, rather like a pidgin or hybrid English. London has for centuries been extremely cosmopolitan, both as a travel hub and a place for foreign people to live and work and start their own busineses.
![tuppence ha penny card game rules tuppence ha penny card game rules](https://www.hobbypony.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/shovhapenny-light-1.jpg)
![tuppence ha penny card game rules tuppence ha penny card game rules](https://i.aagag.com/CDg5l.jpg)
![tuppence ha penny card game rules tuppence ha penny card game rules](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/05/39/09/0539094d55b4ef9dfd0a3acdc3516415--play-bridge-bridge-game.jpg)
While the origins of these slang terms are many and various, certainly a lot of English money slang is rooted in various London communities, which for different reasons liked to use language only known in their own circles, notably wholesale markets, street traders, crime and the underworld, the docks, taxi-cab driving, and the immigrant communities. This section is in advanced English and is only intended to be a guide, not toīe taken too seriously! Slang money words, meanings and origins Double click on any word for its definition.