"One bob" refers to a British shilling, a pre-decimal coin worth 12 pence or one-twentieth of a pound, which today is equivalent to about £0.05 (5 new pence) or around $0.10-$0.15 USD, though the term "bob" also colloquially refers to the Bolivian currency (BOB), which fluctuates, currently around 0.107 GBP or $0.15 USD for 1 BOB.
Aside from 'penny' and all its variations, 'bob', slang for a shilling (or number of shillings) and the word 'shilling' itself are the other greatest lost money words from the language. 'Bob' was an extremely common term through the 1900s up until decimalisation in 1971, and then it disappeared completely.
Eighteenth century English vernacular included several slang terms that may be unfamilar to today's reader: "bob"was slang for a shilling. "quid"was slang for a pound.
A slang name for a shilling was a "bob" (plural as singular, as in "that cost me two bob"). The first recorded use was in a case of coining heard at the Old Bailey in 1789, when it was described as cant, "well understood among a certain set of people", but heard only among criminals and their associates.
The Bank of England 10 shilling note (notation: 10/–), colloquially known as the 10 bob note, was a sterling banknote. Ten shillings in £sd (written 10s or 10/–) was half of one pound. The ten-shilling note was the smallest denomination note ever issued by the Bank of England.
Some attribute it to John Sigismund Tanner (1705–75), a former Chief Engraver of The Royal Mint who designed a sixpence during the reign of George II (r. 1727–60), whilst another theory is that the name comes from the Anglo-Romani word 'taw no' meaning 'small one'.
Within a language community, some of the slang terms vary in social, ethnic, economic, and geographic strata but others have become the dominant way of referring to the currency and are regarded as mainstream, acceptable language (for example, "buck" for a dollar or similar currency in various nations including ...
The British empire's control of India led to a number of phrases making their way across from the Raj to our shores, with a 'monkey' perhaps the most famous. Referring to £500, this term is derived from the Indian 500 Rupee note of that era, which featured a monkey on one side.
The 'Bob' The term 'shilling' might be derived from a Roman coin called a solidus, or the old English term 'scield'. Eventually, it adopted the nickname 'bob', although quite why remains a mystery. There have been attempts to link its name to the famous politician Sir Robert Walpole.
' It seems 'joey' was originally a slang term for the silver fourpence, which the radical politician Joseph Hume reintroduced in the 1830s, as he wanted more small change in circulation. This angered cab drivers because receiving the exact fare meant they couldn't pocket a tip.
Slang Words for 1000 Dollars ($1000) Here is the list of slang words for 1000 dollars ($1000): Grand K Stack G Band Large Thou Kilobuck Gee Big one Rack Cheddar Dime Bill Blue cheese C-note (though traditionally this is for $100) Green Gra...
Climbing up the pre-decimal denominations, we have the shilling. Worth 12 pence, it was known as a 'bob'. Even today, this is a word widely used to refer to a sum of money.
The silver florin was Britain's first decimal coin. A gold florin was first issued during the reign of Edward III in 1344 at a value of six shillings. The name derives from Italian, either fiorino (little flower) or Firenze (Florence), and was inspired by a similar continental coin.
A sixpence. It is probably derived from the Scottish dialect word saxpence. Zac (also spelt zack) is first recorded in Australian English in the 1890s. Later it is also used to mean 'a trifling sum of money', as in the phrase not worth a zac.
Bob's Your Uncle. "Bob's your uncle" means that everything is taken care of for you—you're all set, you've got it made. The expression apparently dates back to 1887 when the original "Uncle Bob"—British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury—made his nephew (Arthur Balfour) Irish Secretary in a move that reeked of nepotism.
