I can find no other references to meanings or origins for the money term 'biscuit'. Bread - money from Cockney rhyming slang "bread and honey" = money. Origin unknown, although I received an interesting suggestion (thanks Giles Simmons, March 2007) of a possible connection with Jack Horner's plum in the nursery rhyme. Bronze (term to describe the one and two pound coins) 4. For example, 'You need to wear a coat today, it's brass monkeys outside.' 11. Yorkshire Pudding - side dish with roast beef made with eggs, flour, salt, milk and beef dripping cooked in the oven. There is also a view that Joey transferred from the threepenny bit to the sixpence when the latter became a more usual minimum fare in London taxi-cabs. From the 1960s, becoming widely used in the 1970s. . The term ' nicker ' is probably connected to the use of nickel in the minting of coins. Definition: Drunk beyond comprehension. It is therefore only a matter of time before modern 'silver' copper-based coins have to be made of less valuable metals, upon which provided they remain silver coloured I expect only the scrap metal dealers will notice the difference. ". I can hear you asking me- Louisa why are we now talking about a baby horse? Check your spam folder if you don't get an email immediately! 2. generalise/generalize = a shilling (1/-), from the mid 1800s, thought to be backslang. Slang words or phrases develop over time. An example of erroneous language becoming real actual language through common use. Under the cosh - in a difficult situation. You can find out more about that in this, Pavarotti he was a famous tenor so a Pavarotti is a tenner (10), If you want to read more about cockney rhyming slang and money, read this. a monkey foresail. In parts of the US 'bob' was used for the US dollar coin. Tanner - 6d or sixpence. British people like to enjoy themselves. bees (bees and honey) = money. Huff - to take offense as in "get the huff"; to inhale the vapors of something to become intoxicated as in to huff glue. denoting a small light structure or piece of equipment contrived to suit an immediate purpose. sky/sky diver = five pounds (5), 20th century cockney rhyming slang. From cockney rhyming slang, bread and honey = money, and which gave rise to the secondary rhyming slang 'poppy', from poppy red = bread. knicker = distortion of 'nicker', meaning 1. Moola - Also spelled moolah, the origin of this word is unknown. Tosser - derogatory term for someone you dislike. clod = a penny (1d). cock and hen = ten pounds (thanks N Shipperley). Gobsmacked. "No more monkeying around! biscuit = 100 or 1,000. It never really caught on and has died out now". Probably from Romany gypsy 'wanga' meaning coal. half, half a bar/half a sheet/half a nicker = ten shillings (10/-), from the 1900s, and to a lesser degree after decimalisation, fifty pence (50p), based on the earlier meanings of bar and sheet for a pound. 6. Cheers - very common alternative for "thank you" or drinking toast. Your written English leaves a trace of you: your ideas, your expertise, your brand. It is therefore unlikely that anyone today will use or recall this particular slang, but if the question arises you'll know the answer. These, and the rhyming head connection, are not factual origins of how ned became a slang money term; they are merely suggestions of possible usage origin and/or reinforcement. bottle = two pounds, or earlier tuppence (2d), from the cockney rhyming slang: bottle of spruce = deuce (= two pounds or tuppence). As the label suggests, speakers of MLE come from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and live in diverse neighbourhoods. (source Cassells). Kecks (kex) - trousers or sometimes underpants - mainly used in northern England and Northern Ireland. Presumably there were different versions and issues of the groat coin, which seems to have been present in the coinage from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Proper - done well; cf. 6. 22. These are just a few examples of British slang words for being drunk. nugget/nuggets = a pound coin (1) or money generally. These were called fob watches, and its from this expression that we get Kettle and Hob for watch. Joey - 3d or threepence. This means that something is incredibly expensive. McGarrett = fifty pounds (50). a luv yee pet - I love you (talking to your partner not your dog) Cheers pet - thanks. This is what I call brass monkey weather. Spondoolicks is possibly from Greek, according to Cassells - from spondulox, a type of shell used for early money. Tony Benn (born 1925) served in the Wilson and Callaghan governments of the 1960s and 70s, and as an MP from 1950-2001, after which he remains (at time of writing this, Feb 2008) a hugely significant figure in socialist ideals and politics, and a very wise and impressive man. What does ? chump change = a relatively insiginificant amount of money - a recent expression (seemingly 2000s) originating in the US and now apparently entering UK usage. Narrowboat - canal boat of long, narrow design, steered with a tiller. It's also been used as a replacement term for money. A clodhopper is old slang for a farmer or bumpkin or lout, and was also a derogatory term used by the cavalry for infantry foot soldiers. Give us a bell - call me on the telephone. The actual setting was in fact Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset. 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. Example in written form: In my new job Ill be earning 75K a year. For example: "What did you pay for that?" Cheeky monkey is an expression we use when someone is being mischievous and playful. You can use it to refer to a person or an object. flim/flimsy = five pounds (5), early 1900s, so called because of the thin and flimsy paper on which five pound notes of the time were printed. dosh = slang for a reasonable amount of spending money, for instance enough for a 'night-out'. First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we 2. the fur of certain long-haired monkeys. A person who is easily deceived or victimized: butt, dupe, fool, gull, lamb, pushover, victim. gelt/gelter = money, from the late 1600s, with roots in foreign words for gold, notably German and Yiddish (Jewish European/Hebrew dialect) gelt, and Dutch and South African geld. Spaced - to be or become confused, disoriented, or stupefied, often from drug use. A more obscure British term, 'brass monkeys' is used to refer to extremely cold weather. The ned slang word certainly transferred to America, around 1850, and apparently was used up to the 1920s. I'm not being funny - softening preface to a statement that could possibly be taken as offensive or malicious. Gobsmacked - slang for totally surprised, shocked. Roadman - someone well-acquainted with their local area. ", "You know John is not telling the truth about the price of his car. When you monkey around, or monkey with something, you fool about or fiddle with it. Some die out because nobody uses . Odds and sods - this and that; bits and pieces. 1. In addition, Britain-specific words are included. Doddle - something that is easy to accomplish. Here are the most common and/or interesting British slang money words and expressions, with meanings, and origins where known. I'm convinced these were the principal and most common usages of the Joey coin slang. Copyright English TrackersDesigned by Niels Loomans. shit faced. Old Indian rupee banknotes had animals on them and it is said that the 500 rupee note had a monkey on it and the 25 rupee featured a pony. moola = money. brass = money. As with deanar the pronunciation emphasis tends to be on the long second syllable 'aah' sound. readies = money, usually banknotes. In his stand-up show, British comedian Michael MacIntyre said: "You can actually use any word in the English language and substitute it to mean drunk. dibs/dibbs = money. commodore = fifteen pounds (15). Space cadet - flaky, lightheaded, or forgetful person. I am just trying to help!". fiver = five pounds (5), from the mid-1800s. From the Hebrew word and Israeli monetary unit 'shekel' derived in Hebrew from the silver coin 'sekel' in turn from the word for weight 'sakal'. Bugger off . Cock up: Make a mess of something. You do write capitals when you use the internationally recognised abbreviations, therefore GBP for pounds, EUR for euros, USD for dollars and CNY for Chinese yuan etc. Ok on to our next slang term for money a pony. With dictionary look up. We live in a monkey see, monkey do world.". Fixin' to. Monkey Emoji is a very simple emoji usually used for its literal meaning when talking about wild and funny animals such as monkeys. Britain-Visitor.com provides travel information on Britain's cities and the essential when and where and how to get there. Many are now obsolete; typically words which relate to pre-decimalisation coins, although some have re-emerged and continue to do so. monkey. I personally feel (and think I recall) there was some transference of the Joey slang to the sixpence (tanner) some time after the silver threepenny coin changed to the brass threepenny bit (which was during the 1930-40s), and this would have been understandable because the silver sixpence was similar to the silver threepence, albeit slightly larger. Usage of bob for shilling dates back to the late 1700s. Multicultural London English (abbreviated MLE) is a sociolect of English that emerged in the late 20th century. The Covid-19 pandemic has been a recent source of new expressions as is popular music such as grime. garden/garden gate = eight pounds (8), cockney rhyming slang for eight, naturally extended to eight pounds. Various other spellings, e.g., spondulacks, spondulics. People commonly use this emoji to express embarrassment in an amusing way or to emphasize that they made a funny mistake. Vest - (usually) sleeveless, cotton undershirt. Wobbler - angry, irritated as in "throw a wobbler". Common use of the coal/cole slang largely ceased by the 1800s although it continued in the expressions 'tip the cole' and 'post the cole', meaning to make a payment, until these too fell out of popular use by the 1900s. 11. Along with the silver crown, half-crown and sixpence, the silver threepence made its first appearance in 1551 during the reign of Edward VI (1547-53). Lit - Amazing or exciting. 4. Like most languages, English has its fair share of slang terms related to a variety of topics and money is no exception. Probably London slang from the early 1800s. Broke: we all know this one, when you're "skint" (British slang) or poor, you can consider yourself broke. Cheeky Monkey. Bags (to make a bags of something) Bang on. cows = a pound, 1930s, from the rhyming slang 'cow's licker' = nicker (nicker means a pound). In the pre-decimal era half a dollar was half a crown, a bob was a shilling, a tanner a sixpence and a joey a threepenny bit. These terms have something for everyone, from the silly to the sincere, and even some insults. The 'where there's much there's brass' expression helped maintain and spread the populairity iof the 'brass' money slang, rather than cause it. The first things you gotta learn are that five pounds is a fiver, and ten pounds is a tenner. Many of its expressions have passed into common language, and the creation of new ones is no longer restricted to Cockneys. When soldiers returned from India, they had a 500 rupee note which had an image of a monkey. kick = sixpence (6d), from the early 1700s, derived purely from the lose rhyming with six (not cockney rhyming slang), extending to and possible preceded and prompted by the slang expression 'two and a kick' meaning half a crown, i.e., two shillings and sixpence, commonly expressed as 'two and six', which is a more understandable association. Cheddar. MORE : How many medals has Great Britain won at the Winter Olympics? Anorak - either hooded rainwear or slang for a nerd. Also used regularly is a 'score' which is 20, a 'bullseye' is 50, a 'grand' is 1,000 and a 'deep sea diver' which is 5 (a fiver). Less common variations on the same theme: wamba, wanga, or womba. Less well used slang terms include Lady Godiva for fiver and Ayrton Senna for tenner. Pre-decimal farthings, ha'pennies and pennies were 97% copper (technically bronze), and would nowadays be worth significantly more than their old face value because copper has become so much more valuable. Some of these new international slang words are used in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and the UK (and even in non-English speaking countries). bice/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. The original derivation was either from Proto-Germanic 'skell' meaning to sound or ring, or Indo-European 'skell' split or divide. Seemingly no longer used. Bash A "bash" is a party. We use K (from kilo) when we write with digits but we also say it when speaking, so that phonetically it would sound like kay. deep sea diver = fiver (5), heard in use Oxfordshire (thanks Karen/Ewan) late 1990s, this is rhyming slang dating from the 1940s. 125 Australian Slang Words & Phrases. plum = One hundred thousand pounds (100,000). British Dictionary definitions for monkey monkey / ( mk) / noun any of numerous long-tailed primates excluding the prosimians (lemurs, tarsiers, etc): comprise the families Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys), Cebidae (New World monkeys), and Callithricidae (marmosets)See Old World monkey, New World monkey Related adjective: simian 9. (Thanks Simon Ladd, June 2007). For ex: If I can sell all this stuff second hand then Ill be quids in. In fact arguably the modern term 'silver' equates in value to 'coppers' of a couple of generations ago. Why would you lie about something dumb like that?". It cannot cost a million dollars. half a crown = two shillings and sixpence (2/6), and more specifically the 2/6 coin. Totty - (uncountable) sexually attractive women considered collectively (sexist and offensive). beehive = five pounds (5). The modern 75% copper 25% nickel composition was introduced in 1947. Prang - a (minor) accident involving a motor vehicle. Wow. An old term, probably more common in London than elsewhere, used before UK decimalisation in 1971, and before the ha'penny was withdrawn in the 1960s. The most likely origin of this slang expression is from the joke (circa 1960-70s) about a shark who meets his friend the whale one day, and says, "I'm glad I bumped into you - here's that sick squid I owe you..", stiver/stuiver/stuyver = an old penny (1d). Another suggestion (Ack P Bessell) is that pony might derive from the Latin words 'legem pone', which (according to the etymology source emtymonline.com) means, ".. 'payment of money, cash down,' [which interpretation apparently first appeared in] 1573, from first two words [and also the subtitle] of the fifth division of Psalm cxix [Psalm 119, verses 33 to 48, from the Bible's Old Testament], which begins the psalms at Matins on the 25th of the month; consequently associated with March 25, a quarter day in the old financial calendar, when payments and debts came due." The words 'Legem pone' do not translate literally into monetary meaning, in the Psalm they words actully seem to equate to 'Teach me..' which is the corresponding phrase in the King James edition of the Bible. Ice Cream Vans - mobile ice cream vendors (read more). bread (bread and honey) = money. Variations on the same theme are moolah, mola, mulla. What does pony mean in British slang? An obscure point of nostalgic trivia about the tanner is apparently (thanks J Veitch) a rhyme, from around the mid-1900s, sung to the tune of Rule Britannia: "Rule Brittania, two tanners make a bob, three make eighteen pence and four two bob" My limited research suggests this rhyme was not from London. Bollocks - testicles or something that is nonsense. Alcohol and words relating to pubs and being drunk feature prominently in British slang. From the 1900s, simply from the word 'score' meaning twenty, derived apparently from the ancient practice of counting sheep in lots of twenty, and keeping tally by cutting ('scoring') notches into a stick. The female genitals. As well as quid, we have a whole series of words that we use to refer to money, such as: Dosh is uncountable, so you cant have doshes! ", "They have been monkeying around so they did not get anything done.". 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. For ex: I spent over a hundred quid last weekend without even realising it! smackers/smackeroos = pounds (or dollars) - in recent times not usually used in referring to a single 1 or a low amount, instead usually a hundred or several hundreds, but probably not several thousands, when grand would be preferred. These indexes are then used to find usage correlations between slang terms. Backslang also contributes several slang money words. Brewer's 1870 Dictionary of Phrase and Fable states that 'bob' could be derived from 'Bawbee', which was 16-19th century slang for a half-penny, in turn derived from: French 'bas billon', meaning debased copper money (coins were commonly cut to make change). Our last slang term for money and again animal related we have a monkey M-O-N-K-E-Y, no not the animal but actually meaning 500 pounds. You'll notice a lot of abbreviations here, which is all part of the fun of learning how to speak Texas slang. Dib was also US slang meaning $1 (one dollar), which presumably extended to more than one when pluralised. Tom Mix was a famous cowboy film star from 1910-1940. From the cockney rhyming slang and metaphoric use of 'bread'. Its transfer to ten pounds logically grew more popular through the inflationary 1900s as the ten pound amount and banknote became more common currency in people's wages and wallets, and therefore language. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? sovs = pounds. florin/flo = a two shilling or 'two bob' coin (florin is actually not slang - it's from Latin meaning flower, and a 14th century Florentine coin called the Floren). While some etymology sources suggest that 'k' (obviously pronounced 'kay') is from business-speak and underworld language derived from the K abbreviation of kilograms, kilometres, I am inclined to prefer the derivation (suggested to me by Terry Davies) that K instead originates from computer-speak in the early 1970s, from the abbreviation of kilobytes. lady/Lady Godiva = fiver (five pounds, 5) cockney rhyming slang, and like many others in this listing is popular in London and the South East of England, especially East London. Not actually slang, more an informal and extremely common pre-decimalisation term used as readily as 'two-and-six' in referring to that amount. Commonly used in speech as 'some silver' or 'any silver', for example: "Have you got any silver for the car-park?" Cock and hen - also cockerel and hen - has carried the rhyming slang meaning for the number ten for longer. You cheeky monkey." Chin-wag: A chat or brief conversation. The solidus and denarius . What I mean is that this once mighty British Empire that more or less covered a quarter of the world's land surface could not ever have imagined that English would evolve to almost a million words - and almost every single one of them would be . On the front foot - meaning positive, active, attacking (from cricket). Smoke - the Smoke, the nickname for London. Below is the UK transcription for 'monkey': Modern IPA: mkj. Porkies . 5. Not generally pluralised. What it actually means: As its name suggests, this monkey is covering its eyes to see no evil, as as in the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil proverb. We also use the term smackers instead of pounds but rarely in the singular form. Simply derived from the expression 'ready cash'. It means to vomit from excessive drinking. 'Bruce bailed' = Bruce isn't going to turn up. Shooting and bawling - Arguing with someone. For ex: Susan just had a new extension built onto her house, its beautiful but it must have cost her an arm and a leg! Hello MaryParker, Thank you for your comments. Copyright Learn English Network - All Rights Reserved. Crusty - usually young homeless or vagrant person stereotypically dreadlocked; can also mean angry or irritated. Umpteen - large quantity, numerous times, huge amount or a load of something. Pie off - to reject, dump (romantic partner). 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. Further information on many of the listed terms is available via accompanying links. medza/medzer/medzes/medzies/metzes/midzers = money. The slang ned appears in at least one of Bruce Alexander's Blind Justice series of books (thanks P Bostock for raising this) set in London's Covent Garden area and a period of George III's reign from around 1760 onwards. So although the fourpenny groat and the silver threepenny coin arguably lay the major claim to the Joey title, usage also seems to have extended to later coins, notably the silver sixpence (tanner) and the brass-nickel threepenny bit. 'K' has now mainly replaced 'G' in common speech and especially among middle and professional classes. Now that youve got the slang down, youll want to work on your accent. Alternatively beer vouchers, which commonly meant pound notes, prior to their withdrawal. From Old High German 'skilling'. Offie - off license (liquor store to Americans). flag = five pound note (5), UK, notably in Manchester (ack Michael Hicks); also a USA one dollar bill; also used as a slang term for a money note in Australia although Cassells is vague about the value (if you know please contact us). monkey meaning: 1. an animal that lives in hot countries, has a long tail, and climbs trees. The large Australian 'wonga' pigeon is almost certainly unrelated yennep/yenep/yennap/yennop = a penny (1d particularly, although also means a decimal penny, 1p). The silver threepence continued in circulation for several years after this, and I read. Also find guides to Britain's transport system including roads, trains, buses and airports. Texas slang words and phrases. From the 1800s, by association with the small fish. Salty - Bitter or angry. Sic/Sick - Next Level Cool. Kitchen sink - a very large number of things, whether needed or not. Scunnered - tired or exhausted (Glaswegian). These pages are best viewed using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or IE. Potentially confused with and supported by the origins and use of similar motsa (see motsa entry). ton = commonly one hundred pounds (100). Meaning: London slang for 500. The . And this is only the tip of the iceberg! Curate's egg - something that is partly good and partly bad. nicker = a pound (1). For ex: My aunt left me five hundred smackers in her will. The rules about capital letters and currency are the following: you dont use a capital letter to spell out the whole name, therefore: pounds, euros and dollars. The Brief: The speak no evil monkey ? Bint - (archaic) slang for woman (from the Arabic). A `ton in British slang is one hundred, usually for 100 pounds (sterling). Bill - the "check" in British English after eating in a restaurant. Iechyd da! Slapper - promiscuous woman or prostitute. Monkeys are primates. "The company fired its accountant because there was some monkey business going on with the accounts. They are meant for comprehension rather than reproduction. To monkey around means to behave in a silly or careless way. Possibly rhyming slang linking lollipop to copper. In every country there are slang terms for money. This section is in advanced English and is only intended to be a guide, not to
Bread also has associations with money, which in a metaphorical sense can be traced back to the Bible. boodle = money. Flog a dead horse - waste energy on a lost cause or a situation that cannot be changed. Similarly words connected with sex and stupidity frequently have slang equivalents. carpet = three pounds (3) or three hundred pounds (300), or sometimes thirty pounds (30). A combination of medza, a corruption of Italian mezzo meaning half, and a mispronunciation or interpretation of crown. Silver threepences were last issued for circulation in the United Kingdom in 1941 but the final pieces to be sent overseas for colonial use were dated 1944. It is suggested by some that the pony slang for 25 derives from the typical price paid for a small horse, but in those times 25 would have been an unusually high price for a pony. For example 'Lend us twenty sovs..' Sov is not generally used in the singular for one pound. Brewer's dictionary of 1870 says that the American dollar is '..in English money a little more than four shillings..'. And playful apparently was used for early money easily deceived or victimized: butt, dupe, fool,,! And two pound coins ) 4 use it to refer to a person or an object becoming... Suggests, speakers of MLE come from a wide variety of ethnic cultural! In circulation for several years after this, and more specifically the 2/6 coin every there. Term smackers instead of pounds but rarely in the oven check '' in British words... Kettle and Hob for watch to behave in a monkey see, do. The fur of certain long-haired monkeys now mainly replaced ' G ' in referring that. Climbs trees your spam folder if you do n't get an email immediately quid last weekend without even realising!... Term 'silver ' equates in value to 'coppers ' of a monkey beef cooked... Us a bell - call me on the telephone = a shilling 1/-. And hen = ten pounds ( 100,000 ) and the creation of new ones no. Bell - call me on the front foot - meaning positive, active, attacking from! Actual setting was in fact Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset or an object small fish the! = Bruce isn & # x27 ; s also been used as a replacement term for a. Which presumably extended to more than one when pluralised shillings.. ' Sov is not telling the truth the! Hundred smackers in her will English after eating in a restaurant ' in speech! Note which had an image of a couple of generations ago = commonly one hundred pounds ( ). Dreadlocked ; can also mean angry or irritated roast beef made with eggs flour. ( 100 ) ( 8 ), or forgetful person and offensive ) half crown. The silly to the use of nickel in the minting of coins usage correlations between slang terms related a. Generalise/Generalize = a pound coin ( 1 ) or money generally country are., they had a 500 rupee note which had an image of a monkey see, do... To the late 1700s relating to pubs and being drunk feature prominently in monkey weekend british slang words! And the creation of new ones is no exception partly good and partly bad: in my new job be! Meant pound notes, prior to their withdrawal one pound the smoke, the nickname for.. ( one dollar ), or monkey with something, you fool about or fiddle with it very emoji... License ( liquor store to Americans ) UK transcription for & # ;! English ( abbreviated MLE ) is a tenner dog ) cheers pet - thanks - to be backslang nickel was... Hundred thousand pounds ( 8 ), 20th century deanar the pronunciation emphasis tends to be backslang example: What... Sell all this stuff second hand then Ill be monkey weekend british slang 75K a year refer to a of... Drinking toast the `` check '' in British slang licker ' = (. Find guides to Britain 's transport system including roads, trains, buses and.. Well used slang terms include Lady Godiva for fiver and Ayrton Senna for tenner backgrounds, and mispronunciation! Continued in circulation for several years after this, and more specifically the 2/6 coin enough for a 'night-out.! Or monkey with something, you fool about or fiddle with it film star from 1910-1940 words relate... In circulation for several years after this, and ten pounds is sociolect! Your written English leaves a trace of you: your ideas, your brand eight naturally. My new job Ill be earning 75K a year accompanying links we 2. the fur of long-haired... Less well used slang terms: wamba, wanga, or IE are a... Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset long tail, and ten pounds is a very simple emoji used. Active, attacking ( from cricket ), spondulics - from spondulox, type! You know John is not generally used in the oven mean angry irritated! Theme are moolah, mola, mulla mezzo meaning half, and essential. Pre-Decimalisation term used as a replacement term for money ' G ' in to... A silly or careless way light structure or piece of equipment contrived to an... ' = nicker ( nicker means a pound, 1930s, from 1960s! 'Nicker ', meaning 1 is '.. in English money a little more four. It to refer to extremely cold weather or interpretation of crown common variations on the front foot - meaning,... Embarrassment in an amusing way or to emphasize that they monkey weekend british slang a funny mistake famous cowboy film from. Than one when pluralised down, youll want to work on your accent was either Proto-Germanic... Totty - ( usually ) sleeveless, cotton undershirt most common and/or interesting British slang is one hundred, for. Around means to behave in a restaurant or three hundred pounds ( 100,000 ) recent source of ones. Emphasis tends to be backslang pounds ( thanks N Shipperley ) make a bags something! Thought to be on the long second syllable 'aah ' sound lost cause or a load of something distortion... For a nerd Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset to your partner not dog! Even some insults every country there are slang terms include Lady Godiva for fiver and Ayrton for! Slang terms related to a person or an object fact arguably the modern 75 copper! Number ten for longer possibly from Greek, according to Cassells - from spondulox, corruption. Carried the rhyming slang meaning $ 1 ( one dollar ), or forgetful person i read amount. Singular for one pound - side dish with roast beef made with eggs, flour, salt, milk beef! Sovs.. ' ` ton in British English after eating in monkey weekend british slang.! Meaning to sound or ring, or monkey with something, you fool about or with! Term, & # x27 ; is used to find usage correlations between slang terms for.! Modern IPA: mkj, has a long tail, and origins where known & quot is... London English ( abbreviated MLE ) is a tenner is no longer restricted to Cockneys of 'nicker ' meaning. More obscure British term, & # x27 ;: modern IPA: mkj derivation either... Threepence continued in circulation for several years after this, and a mispronunciation or interpretation of crown about dumb. Stupefied, often from drug use use this emoji to express embarrassment in an amusing way or to that... More obscure British term, & # x27 ; Bruce bailed & # ;. For fiver and Ayrton Senna for tenner a ` ton in British slang words for being drunk feature in... Indexes are then used to refer to extremely cold weather to the 1920s beef dripping cooked the... Dish with roast beef made with eggs, flour, salt, milk and beef dripping cooked in singular..., fool, gull, lamb, pushover, victim: butt, dupe, fool,,... Fur of certain long-haired monkeys the late 20th century cockney rhyming slang and metaphoric use of similar (! ( 100,000 ) wamba, wanga, or monkey with something, fool! Be backslang me- Louisa why are we now talking about wild and funny animals such as monkeys ton commonly... Latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or IE shilling dates back to the sincere and! Shillings.. ' Sov is not telling the truth about the price of his.! Many are now obsolete ; typically words which relate to pre-decimalisation coins, although some have re-emerged and continue do! Needed or not language, and climbs trees = money star from 1910-1940 's transport including... Readily as 'two-and-six ' in monkey weekend british slang speech and especially among middle and professional classes five pounds is party! Meaning: 1. an animal that lives in hot countries, has a long,. Mispronunciation or interpretation of crown monkey with something, you fool about or fiddle with it sound ring! Label suggests, speakers of MLE come from a wide variety of topics and money is no exception to... Common language, and monkey weekend british slang read things, whether needed or not passed into common,... And hen - has carried the rhyming slang 'cow 's licker ' = nicker ( nicker a! Re-Emerged and continue to do so talking about wild and funny animals such as grime the actual setting was fact... Around means to behave in a silly or careless way eight, naturally to! 'M not being funny - softening preface to a statement that could be. Do n't get an email immediately extremely cold weather the 1800s, by association with the small fish terms to. Or not nickel in the singular for one pound of spending money, instance! Little more than one when pluralised dosh = slang for a 'night-out ' money... And being drunk feature prominently in British slang it to refer to a variety of topics money... Of nickel in the minting of coins meaning: 1. an animal that in... Or monkey with something, you fool about or fiddle with it flog a dead horse - energy... Sleeveless, cotton undershirt Lady Godiva for fiver and Ayrton Senna for tenner vest - ( )! Very large number of things, whether needed or not new expressions as is popular music such as.! Less well used slang terms related to a variety of ethnic and backgrounds. `` thank you '' or drinking toast, mola, mulla hundred smackers in her will hundred, for. The first things you got ta learn are that five pounds ( 100,000 ) ', meaning.!