"Quid," slang for a British pound sterling (recorded since the 1680s), likely originates from the Latin phrase quid pro quo ("something for something" or an exchange). Other theories suggest it stems from Irish Gaelic mo chuid ("my money/possession"), Italian scudo coins, or slang for a "wad" of tobacco.
that's been in use there for more than 12 centuries and is the world's oldest currency today. The nickname "quid" is believed to stem from the Latin phrase “quid pro quo,” which translates to "something for something."
When the American west was being opening up, all trading was by barter rather than money. Seeking for a common unit of exchange plugs of (chewing) tobacco called a QUID gradually gained poularity. Etymology of this is thought to be "cud" (as in "chewing").
So, “ten quid” means £10 — just like “ten pounds”. But here's the key: “quid” is uncountable. You never say “quids” — even when talking about large amounts.
The earliest known use of the noun quid is in the late 1500s. OED's earliest evidence for quid is from 1576, in the writing of George Gascoigne, author and soldier.
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.
The term quid survived Irish independence and now refers to Euros. So if someone says, “that'll be 10 quid”, you'll know you owe them a “tenner” — another Irish slang word for a 10 Euro bill.
In British slang, £25 is called a "pony" primarily because British soldiers returning from India during the Raj era adopted the term from the Indian 25-rupee note, which featured a pony (horse) on it. This term became part of UK slang, alongside other Indian-influenced terms like "monkey" for £500 (from a 500-rupee note with a monkey).
The term has since the early 1900s been used by bookmakers and horse-racing, where carpet refers to odds of three-to-one, and in car dealing, where it refers to an amount of £300. caser/case = five shillings (5/-), a crown coin.
Lolly: This weird name for money was originally short for lollipop. It entered British slang as a term for money in the mid-20th century. But no matter where you're from, most everyone agrees money is sweet. Loot: “Loot” is one of the old words for money we still use today.
As we found out then 'Nick' has a wide variety of meanings based on cheating, snatching, and stealing. Maybe, a one pound coin was viewed as an item of currency worth nicking and became known as a nicker.
The word buck as a term for the U.S. dollar dates back to the 1700s, when deer hides, or buckskins, were often used in trade on the American frontier. Settlers and traders in sparsely populated regions relied on bartering, and buckskins were durable, valuable, and widely accepted.
A pound comprised twenty Shillings, commonly called 'bob', which was a lovely old slang word. It was 'bob' irrespective of how many shillings there were: no-one ever said 'fifteen bobs' - this would have been said as 'fifteen bob'.
The British pound is both the oldest and one of the most traded currencies in the world. It is currently the fourth most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the US dollar (USD), euro (EUR) and Japanese yen (JPY).
A more plausible derivation is from the Old English word steorling (“coin with a star”), for small stars occur on some Norman pennies. In a monetary sense, the term sterling was formerly used to describe the standard weight or quality of English coinage.
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.
£500 is called a "monkey" in British slang because British soldiers returning from colonial India brought the term back, referring to the 500 rupee note that featured a monkey on it, and they applied the name to the equivalent amount in pounds sterling. It's a related term to "pony" for £25, which also supposedly came from Indian currency.
The slang name is levels but is known to punters as evens. The slang is similar to cockney rhyming slang; odds of 2/1 are a bottle (bottle of glue, two) and the signal is putting the hand out in front, then tapping the nose and releasing the hand in front again.
When we say 9x12, we're talking about the size of feet. So, imagine a rectangle that's 9 feet wide and 12 feet long. In inches it's 108 by 144 inches; that's like having a big cozy patch on your floor!
The term means watch, which stemmed from a 'fob' watch, which was a pocket watch attached to the body with a small chain. The kettle used to boil on the hob of a stove... hence the rhyme.
'Wonga' comes from the Romany 'Vonga' meaning money. Some older Romany Gypsies are concerned that because people no longer travel like they used to and the children now go to school that the old language is in danger of dying out.
"Brit" meaning "British person", attested in 1884, is pejorative in Irish usage, though used as a value-neutral colloquialism in Great Britain. During the Troubles, among nationalists "the Brits" specifically meant the British Army in Northern Ireland.
