Question for you brits...

Im not British, but lived there for a while...

the 2 terms mean the same thing..

quid is slang for pounds.... like bucks is slang for dollars

J

Yep - Quid, bob, bar, spons, spuds, note, spot, dot, nicka/nicker, groats, nuggets, dubloons etc. are all just slang for the pound, some more common than others, obviously :wink:

Then there's a quite a few for specific amounts too, alledgedly more so than the rest of the world, but I don't know if that's true or not: A 'score' is £20, a 'pony' is £25, a 'ton' is £100 (sometimes a 'one-er' too, although £5 and £10 are 'fiver' and 'tenner' respectively, and usually refers to the note specifically rather than the amount. People who have two £5 notes say they've got 'two fivers' or 'ten quid' rather than 'a tenner' ), a 'monkey' is £500 and £1000 is a 'grand' or a 'bag' (short for 'bag of sand', rhyming slang for grand). Funnily enough though, we don't have any for small change specifically like a lot of the rest of the world do (nickel, dime etc.), although we've got 'schrapnel' for small change in general.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Guess who used to be a croupier? :)

if you come to America, I'd be careful with the 'nicka/nicker' one. :lol: Could get you into some hot water. Just ask the guy in my avator.

Yep - Quid, bob, bar, spons, spuds, note, spot, dot, nicka/nicker, groats, nuggets, dubloons etc. are all just slang for the pound, some more common than others, obviously :wink:

Then there's a quite a few for specific amounts too, alledgedly more so than the rest of the world, but I don't know if that's true or not: A 'score' is £20, a 'pony' is £25, a 'ton' is £100 (sometimes a 'one-er' too, although £5 and £10 are 'fiver' and 'tenner' respectively, and usually refers to the note specifically rather than the amount. People who have two £5 notes say they've got 'two fivers' or 'ten quid' rather than 'a tenner' ), a 'monkey' is £500 and £1000 is a 'grand' or a 'bag' (short for 'bag of sand', rhyming slang for grand). Funnily enough though, we don't have any for small change specifically like a lot of the rest of the world do (nickel, dime etc.), although we've got 'schrapnel' for small change in general.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Guess who used to be a croupier? :)

Almost - "bob" was a shilling (12 old pennies). We used to have the word "tanner" for six old pennies, but none of the old terms for coins made it beyond decimalisation in 1971. "Guinea" is still used to mean 21 shillings (£1.05) but it's only used to price horses these days. "Crowns" - 25P, or five bob - are still issued for special occasions but collectors tend to snap them up pretty quick.

Ah, nostalgia.

A :-)

Alan - up north those of us of a certain age still refer to some amounts by pre-decimal names - 50pence is still referred to as ten bob, and 10p as two bob....

Izzy - coins now in existence are £1, 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p and 1p - there used to be a 1/2 pence coin as well, but that and the pound notes were withdrawn in the 80's.

Pre-decimalisation, in 1971, there was a farthing (1/4 of a penny, though that was withdrawn about 1960) ha'penny, (half-penny) penny, three-penny bit, (three pence) tanner (sicpence) shilling (12 pence, also known as a bob) florin (two shillings, or two bob) and a half-crown (two shillings and sixpence).

There were 240 pennies to the pound.....

So a pound could be 240 pennies, 80 three-penny bits, 40 tanners or 20 shillings....10 two-bobs, or 8 half-crowns....or any combination of these....

And we resisted decimalisation for many years on the grounds it was too complex.....!!!!!!!

:D :D :D

Vic

Holyy crapp. So much. U brits are seriously screwy.

U brits are seriously screwy.
Yeah, everyone else is just too serious :)

Al: Technically that would be 'had', not 'have'. Before my time :mrgreen:

Nah, we're not screwy - just ........ British.......hell, I'm not even allowed to say English these days, in case the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish are pissed off.....political correctness my A$$$, I'm English and proud of it.....I'm a Lancastrian (that means I come from Lancashire) and even prouder of that.....only thing I regret, I wasn't born 15 miles down the road, where John Paul George and Ringo were born......

Someone once said, there are two types of people in the world....those who were born in Liverpool, and those who wish they were born in Liverpool.....I was close, and one day I hope to become an adopted Liverpudlian - hell, i've spent a lot of time and money there over the years....ask me where's my favourite place in the world, it'll be a toss-up between the Kop at Anfield or the Cavern in town.....

Hey I'm getting closer though - I don't live in Lancashire any more, I live in Merseyside.....

Ahhhhh, Liverpool is the coolest place on the planet....although I wouldn't recommend Walton Prison to anyone.......or the Grafton on a friday night......

:D :D :D

Vic

I'm just disappointed that toppins (two pence) from Mary Poppins was never actually a British slang.. at least I told it wasn't.
And we resisted decimalisation for many years on the grounds it was too complex.....!!!!!!!

:D :D :D

Vic
It's like the metric system in the USA. In college, I would convert to metric system solve the problem and then convert back. Professors would tell us certain problems we had to solve using the English system and show all work just so we would learn it! Oh wait, *wheels are turning*... British thermal unit, English system! That make so much sense now, you silly Brits, now I understand how a completely arbitrary measurement system was created, 12 inches to a foot and 5280 feet to a mile, just look at your money system. At least you made that conversion, sillier Americans, who else would continue to follow an arbitrary measurement system for a much simpler one based on powers of 10.

There may be a 'Toppins' I've never heard, but more likely it's 'tuppence'. (I'm not big on 'classics' :)) We still use that in a 'just my 2cents worth'-kinda way. I'll try and remember to do it around here now you've been forewarned :)

...and we're still in miles over here, and often feet and inches too. :roll:

I can remember when you could buy something for "fourpence3farthin". Now how you convert that to decimals I have no idea.......... :lol: :lol: :lol:

OOOOh the memories :D :D

I believe that would equal to 0.019791 pounds?

Ah well, atleast they do use the metric system, unlike some (three, to be precise) other nations. ;)

I believe that would equal to 0.019791 pounds?

Ah well, atleast they do use the metric system, unlike some (three, to be precise) other nations. ;)

Shame - decimal point in the wrong place! fourpence3farthin would be 1.9791pence in today's money, so 0.19791 of a pound......

I'm impressed though that Arjen could convert money from a system that was scrapped before he was born to today's money.....

:D :D :D

Vic

Oh - and although we do use the metric system, I'd say about 95% of Brits still think in yards, feet and inches and stones, pounds and ounces (that's pounds in weight, not money.....)

:D :D :D

Vic