Slang terms for money

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Slang terms for money often derive from the appearance and features of banknotes or coins, their values, historical associations or the units of currency concerned. 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 Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria and the United States).

Australia[]

Current denominations[]

The five-cent coin is sometimes referred to as "shrapnel" as the smallest remaining coin in value and physical size. This nickname was inherited from one- and two-cent coins when they were abolished in 1996.^[1] Similarly related, as is also used in the United Kingdom, "fivers" and "tenners" are relatively common expressions for five and ten pounds, respectively. "Beer tokens" can relate to any denomination or combination of. This is also in keeping with the reverse, in which "bottle tops" can be used as an expression of holding, offering, or having a low amount of money.

A twenty-dollar note is called a "lobster" because of its red colour.^[2]

A fifty-dollar note is also known colloquially as a "pineapple" or the "Big Pineapple" because of its yellow colour.^[3]

The $100 note is currently green and is known colloquially as an "avocado" or "green tree frog",^[4] but between 1984 and 1996 it was grey, and was called a grey nurse (a type of shark).^[5]

In a Simpsons episode set in Australia, one character used the term "dollarydoos" which was later the subject of a failed petition to formally change the name of the Australian dollar.^[6]

Former denominations[]

Pre-decimal currency in Australia had a variety of slang terms for its various denominations. The Australian threepence was referred to as a "trey" or a "trey bit", a name probably derived from old French meaning three. The sixpence was often referred to as a "zack", which was an Australian and New Zealander term referring to a coin of small denomination, probably derived from Zecchino. The term was also used to refer to short prison term such as six months. An Australian shilling, like its British counterpart, was commonly referred to as a "bob", and the florin was consequently known as "two bob". Similarly, one Australian pound was colloquially described as a "quid", "fiddly", or "saucepan", the latter as rhyming slang for "saucepan lid/quid". The five-pound note could be referred to as a "fiver", or its derivatives, "deep sea diver" and "sky diver".^{[citation needed]}

A number of post-decimal denominations which have since been discontinued had their own nicknames. The two-dollar note was known as the "sick sheep" in reference to its green colour and the merino ram that it showed. The paper (first and second series) hundred-dollar note was nicknamed the "grey ghost", "grey nurse", or the "Bradman" in recognition of its proximity to the 99.94 batting average of cricketer Donald Bradman.^{[citation needed]}

Canada[]

In Canada, the one-dollar coin is known as the loonie. This is because it bears an image of the common loon, a bird.

The two-dollar coin is known as the toonie, a portmanteau combining the number two with loonie. It is occasionally spelled twonie; Canadian newspapers and the Royal Canadian Mint use the toonie spelling.

Similar to the United States 5 cent coins are called nickel (due to the metal it was made of), 10 cent coins are dimes, 25 cent coins are quarters or two bits. Dollar amounts are all also referred to as bucks.

A five-dollar note is known colloquially as a fin, a fiver, half a sawbuck.

A ten-dollar note is known colloquially as a ten-spot, a dixie, a sawbuck, or a tenner.

A twenty-dollar note is known colloquially as QE2, or a Queen Sheet (after its portrait of Queen Elizabeth II).

A one hundred-dollar note is known colloquially as a C-Note, or a Borden (after its portrait of Prime Minister Robert Borden). $100.00 is also called an onion in gambling corners.^{[citation needed]}

Discontinued since 2000, the former one thousand-dollar notes were occasionally referred to as "pinkies", because of their distinctive colour.^[7]

Since Canadians and Americans both refer to their respective currencies as "the dollar", and because the two countries tend to mingle both socially and in the media, there is a lot of overlap in slang terms for money. However, this usually only extends to terms that are not specific to one country or the other. For example, both Canadians and Americans refer to a $100 note as a C-note, but an American might refer to it as a Benjamin, after its portrait of Benjamin Franklin, while a Canadian might refer to it as a Borden, after its portrait of Robert Borden.

In Canadian French, dollar amounts are often referred to as piasses in the same way that an English speaker would use the words "buck" or "bucks" in informal settings. The word piasse is derived from the word piastre.

Czech republic[]

Coins and banknotes are referred to as:
5 CZK coin is called bur
10 CZK coin is called pětka
100 CZK note is called kilo (reference to kilogram – weight unit)
500 CZK note is pětibába (reference to baba = woman on its face and pet = five)
1000 CZK note is litr (reference to litre – volume unit)
milion CZK is mega (obvious 10^6 SI unit prefix)
If someone has huge amount of money, but not exact number is known, it is said "je ve vatě" (he is in cotton wool)
or it is said "je v balíku" (he's in a package – literally said)

Eurozone[]

Since its introduction in 1999, a number of slang terms for the euro have emerged, though differences between languages mean that they are not common across the whole of the eurozone. Some terms are inherited from the legacy currencies, such as quid from the Irish pound and various translations of fiver or tenner being used for notes. The German Teuro is a play on the word teuer, meaning 'expensive'. The Deutsche Mark by comparison was approximately worth half as much as the euro (at a ratio of 1.95583:1) and some grocers and restaurants have been accused of taking advantage of the smaller numbers to increase their actual prices with the changeover by rounding to 2:1, in Portugal the same has happened and usually use the term "Aéreo" with the meaning of "Aéreal", the currency that flies away. In Flanders the lower value copper coins are known as koper (copper) or rosse (~ginger, referring to the colour). Ege in Finland and Pavo (which is the usual Spanish translation of buck on movies or TV shows when it refers to dollars) in Spain are also terms applied to the euro.

India[]

In India slang names for coins are more common than the currency notes. For 5 paisa (100 paisa is equal to 1 Indian rupee) it is 'panji'. A 10 paisa coin is called 'dassi' and for 20 paisa it is 'bissi'. A 25 paisa coin is called 'chavanni' (equal to 4 annas) and 50 paisa is 'athanni' (8 annas). However, in recent years, due to inflation, the use of these small value coins has declined, and so has the use of these slang terms. The more prevalent terms now (particularly in Mumbai and in Bollywood movies) are 'peti' for a Lakh (Rs. 100,000) and 'khokha' for a Crore (Rs. 10,000,000.) and 'tijori' for 100 crores (Rs. 1,000,000,000.) Peti also means suitcase, which is the volume needed to carry a Lakh of currency notes. Tijori means a large safe or a cupboard, which would be the approximate space required to store that money in cash form. Due to the real estate boom in recent times, businessmen also use the terms '2CR' or '3CR' referring to two crores and three crores respectively.

Argentina[]

In Argentina, among the years and despite many devaluation milestones, the lunfardo managed to persist in time some special nicknames to certain amount of money, not because color or type of the bill but to different meanings and uses.

Senior people above 65 now (previous to baby-boomer generation) used to call "guita" to the coins of low denomination of cents ('centavos'), like 2, 5 or 10 cent coins. So "10 guita" meant 10 cents of peso. Today the cents are still legal but non-existent. The word "guita" in lunfardo is synonym for "money".

During the short period of the "Austral" which replaced the traditional "Peso" monetary bill, after the period called 'dirty war' (between 1983 and 1990) and in the recent years after year 2.000, people used to call "palo" (stick) to the "million" of australes or pesos, so "2 palos" refers to 2 million pesos.

For the last 20 years or more, after year 1997 at least, and during the government of president Menem, as probably the hiatus of the pre-devaluation era before year 2000, and even today people got used to call "luca" to thousands of pesos, so "5 lucas" it means 5 thousand pesos. Lucas, is a typical masculine name among the X Generation in Argentina.

Then another nickname for the singular peso is "mango", but nobody would call 35.000 "mangos" when they can say 35 "lucas". Also nobody would say 1.000 "lucas" when they can simply say 1 "palo" (1 million pesos)

Mexico[]

The mexican coin is called peso 0.5 MXN coin is called toston 10 MXN coin is called Diego 20 MXN bill is called Benito or Beny 200 MXN bill is called Juana 1000 MXN bill is called Miguelito

Kenya[]

In Kenya there are about 42 different languages, which have different dialects and indigenous names for money, in addition to the official National languages of Swahili and English. In English, Kenyan currency is a Shilling while in Swahili it is "Shilingi". (Indeed, all East African countries refer to their money as Shillings.^{[citation needed]})

Other notable names include:

Slang term	Bantu-dialect	nilotic-dialect
chapaa, pesa, munde, mundez, mulla, dough, ganji, cheddaz, cheddar/mkwanja	Mbesha	Otongloh/Mafarangah

In addition, youth have a sub-culture street language for the different denominations. Using the street slang (sheng), urbanites often amalgamate Swahili, English, and their mother-tongue to concoct meanings and names for the different denominations. Among the commonly used terms are:

	Image	Denomination	designation	Nickname	pronunciation
Coins		.01ct			ndururu
		.10ct			peni
		.50ct			sumuni
		1.00	Ksh.1		bob/1bob (wan bob)shilingi
		2.00	Kshs.2
Coin & Notes		5.00	Kshs.5		Ngovo/Guoko/kobuang'/kobole
		10.00	Kshs.10		hashu/ikongo/kindee
		20.00	Kshs.20		dhanashara/mbao/blue
Coin		40.00	Kshs.40	Jongo/Kiroosi	Jongo ya tefo/Ki-roo-see (disambiguation for one of fmr Pres. Kibaki's wives: Mama Lucy Kibaki)
Notes		50.00	Kshs.50		hamsa/hamsini/finje/chuani/nich
		100.00	Kshs.100		mia/soo/oss/red/kioo
		200.00	Kshs.200		soo mbili/soo mbeh/rwabe
		500.00	Kshs.500	five soc	soo tano/punch/jirongo
		1000.00	Kshs.1000	1K	a thao/tenga/ngiri/ngwanye/bramba/ndovu/muti/kapaa/kei(for letter 'K') gee(for letter 'G')
		1,000,000 (doesn't exist in notation)	Kshs.1,000,000	1mitre	mita moja

In writing, money is denoted by "Kshs" before or the slang notation "/=" after. For examples, Kshs.1.00 is one-bob, whereas 5,000/= is five-Kei.

Corruption is rampant in the Kenyan government,^[8][9] and corrupt officials in government agencies often refer to illicit kickbacks as "chickens" to avoid anti-corruption and money laundering enforcement.^[10]

Malaysia[]

In Malaysia there is a difference between states in their names for money. Normally "cents" are called "sen", but in the northern region (Penang, Kedah, Perlis) "sen" are called "kupang" and the "det" (pronounce date) means money. For example, "weh aku takdak det" and 50 sen/cents is called 5 kupang and not 50 kupang.

In the East Coast Region (Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang), they still used sen. But only for the value of 50 cents, they replace it with the word se-amah ( where "se" refer to one in Malay), if it's RM 1 (100 cents), it will be called dua-amah ( "Dua" is two in Malay), and so on.

And, exclusively in Kelantan, they don't refer the value of money in "ringgit", for example, in other states, RM 10 is called 10 ringgit, RM 25 is called 25 ringgit and so on. But, in Kelantan, they replaced the word "ringgit" with "riyal", for example, RM 10 is usually called 10 ringgit, but in Kelantan, it's called 10 riyal.^{[citation needed]}

Russia[]

General money slang

Generally slang terms for money are following:
"b′abki" — form Czech small anvil for making coins — "b′abka", pl. "b′abki"
"babl′o" — slang from "b′abki"
"lav′ae" — used since 1990s, comes from gypsy word "lavae" means silver. Russian writer Victor Pelevin gives an alternative witty consumeristic meaning to this word. In his book "Generation P" he interprets "lav′ae" as a spelled out abbreviation "LV" which stands for liberal values.
"kap′u:sta" — means cabbage
"derevy′anniy" — a general name for a rouble, a substantive adj. "wooden". Means that rouble is cheap as it is made of wood.

Expressions
"strich bablo" — verb "strich" means "to cut", "to trim" money like from the hedge (also "strich kapu:stu", "strich lavae")
"kos′it' babl′o" — "to mow money" (also "kos′it' kap′u:stu", "kos′it' lav′ae"), similar to "trim money"
Both expressions mean to earn money in big amounts (usually refers to illegal ways) or to collect money from someone.

Coins

The Russian language has slang terms for various amounts of money. Slang names of copeck coins derive from old Russian pre-decimal coins and are rarely in use nowadays: an "altyn" is three copecks, a "grivennik" is ten copecks, a "pyatialtynny" ("five-altyns") is fifteen copecks, and a "dvugrivenny" ("two-grivenniks") is 20 copecks. Most of these coins are of Soviet mint and no longer used; only the ten copeck coin remains in circulation.

1 copeck — "kop′eyechka" (diminutive from copeck)
3 copecks — "alt′yn"
10 copecks — "gr′ivennik"
15 copecks — "pyatialt′ynny" ("five-altyns")
20 copecks — "dvugr′ivenny" ("two-grivenniks")

Bills

The word "cherv′onets" means ten rubles and refers to an early 20th-century gold coin of the same name. It is also called "ch′irik" (a diminutive for "cherv′onets"). The words for bank notes from 50 to 1000 rubles are the newest and most modern, since currently (2000s-2010s) bank notes of this value are most common in circulation. 50 rubles are called "polt′innik" (an old word that originally meant 50 copecks), 100 rubles are called "st′ol'nik" (a neologism from the Russian word "sto", meaning "100", not related to the Muscovite office of the same name), 500 rubles are called "pyatih′atka" (lit. "five huts"), "fiol′et" ("violet", because of the note's color), and 1000 rubles are called "sht′u:ka" (means "item", "pack" — 1990-s slang for a pack of bills 100x10RUB or 100x10USD), "kus′ok" ("piece", "pack" — also refers to a 100x10RUB pack); or "kos′ar'" — (form "k′oso" — adv. "aslope") initially refers to a fact that in the 1910-20s the number "1000" was printed on the note at 45°. The word "kos′ar'" (homonymic meaning is "mower") can also be referred to another money slang expression "kos′it' babl′o" — "to mow money" — to earn money in big amounts (usually refers to illegal ways).

10 RUB — "cherv′onets" (from Slav. "cherv′oniy" — red, refer to a colour the note was in Soviet times), "ch′irik" (a diminutive for chervonets)
50 RUB — "polt′innik" (substantive from "five-altyns")
100 RUB — "stol'nik", "s′o:tka", "sot′el" (informal substantives from "sto" — one hundred)
500 RUB — "pyatis′otka"(substantive from "pyat's′ot" — five hundred), "pyatih′utka" (lit. "five huts")",fiol′et" ("violet" refers to a note colour)
1000 RUB — "sht′u:ka", "shtu:k′ar'" ("item", "pack" — 1990-s slang for a pack of bills 100x10RUB or 100x10USD)",kus′ok" ("piece", "pack" — also refers to a 100x10RUB pack); "kos′ar'" ("slopped")
5000 RUB – "pit′orka", "pit′ora" ("a fiver"), "pyat' shtuk" (five packs, five packs of 100x10RUB), "pyat' kosar′ey", "pyat' kusk′o:v"

Slang words for greater amounts of money originate from the 1990s and the Russian Civil War eras, when the ruble was suffering hyperinflation. For a million rubles the most common are "limon" (lemon), "lyam" (short from "limon") and for a billion "arbuz" (watermelon). Word "limon" appeared in 1990s when rouble lost its value.

1 000 000 RUB — "lim′o:n" (lemon), "lyam" (short from "limon")
1 000 000 000 RUB — "arb′u:z" (watermelon)

Slovakia[]

From 1993 to 2008, Slovakia used its own currency, slovenská koruna (Slovak crown), instead of Euro. During this period, slang words for greater amounts of money were established, including "kilo" (slang for kilogram) for one hundred crowns,^[11] "liter" (liter) for one thousand crowns^[12] and "melón" (melon) for one million crowns.^[13] These slang words are still used after 2008, albeit less frequently.

South Africa[]

Decimal currency was introduced in 1961, when the South African pound, previously based on the United Kingdom currency, was replaced by the rand (symbol R) at the rate of 2 rand to 1 pound, or 10 shillings to the rand. Thus the United Kingdom term "bob" for a shilling equates to 10 cents.

South African slang for various amounts of money borrows many terms from the rest of the English speaking world, such as the word "grand" when referring to R1,000. Other words are unique to South Africa, such as the term "choc" when referring to a R20 note. One "bar" refers to an amount of R1,000,000.

Among the English speaking communities "Bucks" is commonly used to refer to Rands (South African Currency). Less commonly used is the Afrikaans slang for Rands which is "Bokke", the plural of Bok; The Afrikaans word for antelope ("Bucks" being the English equivalent), derived from the Springbok image on the old R 1 coin. e.g. R 100 = 100 Bucks/Bokke, R 5 = 5 Bucks/Bokke etc.

Term	Denomination	Designation	Origin
2 Bob	.20	a 20 cent coin	United Kingdom 2 shillings
5 Bob	.50	a 50 cent coin	United Kingdom 5 shillings
Boice	2	a R2 coin	township slang
Tiger	10	a R10 note	township slang
Chocko	20	a R20 note	township slang
5 Tiger	50	a R50 note	township slang
Pinkies			due to the note's colour
Jacket			township slang
1 Sheet	100	a R100 note	township slang
Clipa	100	a R100	township slang
Stena		an amount of R1,000	from the township word for brick
Grand		an amount of R1,000	United Kingdom
Bar		an amount of R1,000,000	Durban slang
Meter	1,000,000	an amount of R1,000,000	township slang

Netherlands[]

Netherlands-slang(straattaal)

5 cent : centoe, kleingeld, stuiver (in Amsterdam "bijssie")

10 cents: dubbeltje (double stuiver) "duppie"

25 cents: kwartje (a quarter of a Guilder) (in Amsterdam "heitje")

1 euro : uru, djara, ballen (pleural), e, ekkie, eu, eccie, pop (Previously when it was 1 Guilder – "piek")

2.5 Guilders" rijksdaalder (in Amsterdam "knaak")

5 euro: lotto, vijfje ("fiver")

10 euro: donnie, tientje ("tenner"), joet (after yodh, the tenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet) – (in Amsterdam "joet")

25 euro: twaja donnie, geeltje ("yellow one", the former guilder banknote used to be yellow from 1861 until 1909) There is no 25 Euro bill; only a 20 Euro)

50 euro: bankoe

100 euro: barkie, meier (after mea, Hebrew for 100), mud (unit of volume, derived from Latin modius; used to be 100 litres after 1820), snip (the old guilder banknote once had a snipe on it) -

1000 euro: doezoe, mille (from French word for thousand), rooie/rooie rug/rug ("red one, red back, back", the former guilder banknote once had a red backside), kop ("head")

100.000 euro: ton

1.000.000 euro: milli

1.000.000.000 euro: billi

1.000.000.000.000 euro: trill, trilly

New Zealand[]

In New Zealand one dollar and two dollar coins are often referred to as "gold coins". This presumably comes from the term "gold coin donation", which is widely used in New Zealand in schools on days such as mufti day and in a Koha^{[citation needed]}.

Sweden[]

In Sweden money in general is colloquially referred to by the words stålar, deg ("dough") or klöver ("clover") and the English loanword cash. Slang terms for the Swedish krona in use today include spänn and bagis. Riksdaler (referring riksdaler, the former Swedish currency) is still used as a colloquial term for the krona in Sweden.^[14] A 20-kronor banknote is sometimes called selma, referring to the portrait of Selma Lagerlöf on the older version of the note.

100-kronor banknote is called hunka and is a wordplay of the word "hundring" meaning hundred, 50 is therefore halvhunka and 200 is dubbelhunka. 200 is to a lesser extent also called "gröning" (green-ing) due to the green color of the banknote, however this can be confusing as "gröning" is also a slang for a gram marijuana. 500 is referred as röding ("salvelinus"), "röd" meaning red refers to the color of the banknote. 1000 is called lax ("Salmon") because the older 1000 banknotes were pink/orange like the meat of salmon, lesser used terms are: lök (onion) and lakan (sheets). 10.000 is called skjorta (shirt) however it is only used in the rich parts of Stockholm. 1.000.000 is called kanin (rabbit) and derive from the egyptian arabic term were they also call 1 million for rabbit and in more casual speech "mille" which is a shortened version of "miljon".

In the southern part of Sweden, the parts that originally belonged to Denmark ( counties are Halland, Blekinge, Skåne) until the mid 1600, you can also use the word spänn for money. If you remove the umlauts in the word it will mean bucket in the county Skåne in Sweden. In the rest of Sweden the bucket word is hink. The word spann comes from the time when Skåne belonged to Denmark (there are a few more words that differs from the south to the north, but we are now discussing slang for money.)

The expression above would then be ...det kostar 10 spänn... it costs 10 kronor. (The umlauts here are pronounced a short e – [spenn])

United Kingdom[]

Ready money (i.e. cash) has been referred to in the United Kingdom as "dosh" since^[15] at least 1953; Brewer equates this term with "paying through the nose", dosh being a Russian-Jewish prefix referring to the nose, that is, paying in cash.^[16] The phrase "ready money" has also given rise to the far more popular "readies", though there is debate as to whether this is an obvious reference to the availability of the currency or the red and white colour of the British ten shilling Treasury note of 1914. The related term "cash on the nail" is said to refer to 17th century trading stands in Bristol and elsewhere, over which deals were done and cash changed hands.^[17] Other general terms for money include "bread" (Cockney rhyming slang 'bread & honey', money. This also became dough, by derivation from the same root), "cabbage", "clam", "milk", "dosh", "dough", "shillings", "frogskins", "notes", "ducats", "loot", "bones", "bar", "coin", "folding stuff", "honk", "lolly", "lucre"/"filthy "Lucre", "moola/moolah", "mazuma", "paper", "scratch", "readies", "rhino"^[16] (Thieves' cant),^[18] "spondulicks/spondoolic(k)s/spondulix/spondoolies" and "wonga".

Quid (singular and plural) is used for pound sterling or £, in British slang. It is thought to derive from the Latin phrase "quid pro quo".^[19] A pound (£1) may also be referred to as a "nicker" or "nugget" (rarer).

Some other pre-decimal United Kingdom coins or denominations became commonly known by colloquial and slang terms, perhaps the most well known being "bob" for a shilling. A farthing was a "mag", a silver threepence was a "joey" and the later nickel-brass threepence was called a "threepenny bit" (/ˈθrʌpni/, /ˈθrʊpni/ or /ˈθrɛpni/); a sixpence was a "tanner", the two-shilling coin or florin was a "two-bob bit", the two shillings and sixpence coin or half-crown was a "half dollar" and the crown was a "dollar". Slang terms are not generally used for the decimal coins that replaced them but in some parts of the country, "bob" continues to represent one-twentieth of a pound, that is five new pence and two bob is 10p. For all denominations "p" is used for pence.

In the United Kingdom the term "shrapnel" may be used for an inconvenient pocketful of change because of the association with a shrapnel shell and "wad", "wedge" or "wodge" for a bundle of banknotes, with "tightwad" a derogatory term for someone who is reluctant to spend money. Similar to "shrapnel" the use of "washers" in Scotland denotes a quantity of low value coinage. Quantities of UK 1p and 2p coins may be referred to as "Copper", 5p, 10p, 20p, and 50p coins as "Silver" and £1 and £2 coins as "Bronze" due to their colour and apparent base metal type. "Brass" is northern English slang for any amount of money.

The one pound note, while still in circulation in Scotland, was occasionally referred to as a "Sheet" and thus the ten shilling note as a "Half Sheet". More commonly the ten shilling note was a "ten bob note" or, in London, "half a bar". "As bent as a nine bob note" is or was common colloquial phrase used to describe something or someone crooked or counterfeit, or alternatively (and now considered offensive) a gay man who is extremely camp

In pub culture five and ten pound notes are sometimes called "blue beer tokens" and "brown beer tokens" respectively.

Fairly recent additions are a "Winston" for £5 (from the image of Winston Churchill on the back of the new note introduced in 2016) and "bullseye" for £50 (from the points value of the bullseye on a darts board)^{[citation needed]}.

£5 is called a "fiver". A "tenner" is £10. A "Darwin" also refers to a £10 note, due to the image of Charles Darwin on the back (issued from 7 November 2000 and withdrawn from circulation on 1 March 2018). £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.^[20]

A "pony" equals £25. A "bullseye" is £50. £100 is sometimes referred to as a "ton" e.g. £400 would be called 4 ton. Also, a "century" or a "bill" are also used as £100 (e.g. £300 would be three bills). A "monkey" is £500. £1,000 is commonly referred to as a grand, e.g., £4,000 would be called 4 grand, or rarely in certain dialects as a "bag" (from the rhyming slang "Bag of Sand"), e.g., £4,000 would be called 4 bags. A "oner" (one-er) has referred to various amounts from one shilling to a pound, to now meaning £100 or £1,000, and a "big one" denoting £1,000. A "oncer" referred particularly to a one-pound note, now defunct.^{[citation needed]}

Other rhyming slang expressions for particular quantities of money in the United Kingdom include: "Lady Godiva" for a fiver (£5), or a "Jacks" – Jackson Five (extremely rare) and "diver" for pearl diver. A "Cockle" is £10 – Cock and Hen — ten (also "Ayrton", from Ayrton Senna/Tenner^{[citation needed]}). A "Bobby" is £20 – Bobby Moore (score).

In London financial culture, a billion pounds or, more often, US dollars, is referred to as a 'yard'. This derives from the old British English word for a thousand million, a milliard, which has now been replaced by the 'short scale' name 'billion' from US English. The term 'million' for a million pounds or dollars is often dropped when it is clear from context. E.g. "He made three quid last year" would mean "He earned three million pounds". "They manage a hundred bucks" means that they have assets of a hundred million US dollars.

United States[]

General terms include:

Outdated or rarely used terms include:

U.S. coinage nicknames reflect their value, composition and tradition.

• The "ONE CENT" coin ($0.01 or 1¢) is commonly called a penny due to historical comparison with the British penny. Older U.S. pennies, prior to 1982, are sometimes called "coppers" due to being made of 95% copper. Pennies dated 1909–1958, displaying wheat stalks on the reverse, are sometimes called "wheaties" or "wheat-backs", while 1943 steel wheat cents are sometimes nicknamed "steelies".
• The "FIVE CENTS" coin ($0.05 or 5¢) is commonly called a nickel due to being made of 25% nickel since 1866. Nickels minted between 1942 and 1945 are nicknamed 'war nickels' owing to their different metal content, removing the nickel for a mixture of silver, copper and manganese.
• The "ONE DIME" coin ($0.10 or 10¢) is worth ten cents and is called a dime.
• The "QUARTER DOLLAR" coin ($0.25 or 25¢) is worth twenty-five cents and is commonly called a quarter. A quarter used to be called two-bits (see below), but this is falling out of use.
• The "HALF DOLLAR" coin ($0.50 or 50¢) is worth fifty cents and is commonly called a "fifty-cent piece".

Dimes and quarters used to be sometimes collectively referred to as "silver" due to their historic composition of 90% silver prior to 1965.

A bit is an antiquated term equal to one eighth of a dollar or 12+1⁄2 cents, after the Spanish 8-Real "piece of eight" coin on which the U.S. dollar was initially based. So "two bits" is twenty-five cents; similarly, "four bits" is fifty cents. More rare are "six bits" (75 cents) and "eight bits" meaning a dollar. These are commonly referred to as two-bit, four-bit, six-bit and eight-bit.^[23]

U.S. banknote nicknames reflect their values (such as five, twenty, etc.), the subjects depicted on them and their color.

• $1 bill (ONE DOLLAR) is sometimes called a "single", a "buck", a "simoleon" or rarely an "ace"^{[citation needed]}. The dollar has also been referred to as a "bean" or "bone" (e.g. twenty bones is equal to $20).
• $2 bill is sometimes referred to as a "deuce" or a "Tom"^{[citation needed]}.
• $5 bill has been referred to as a "fin", "fiver" or "five-spot".^[24]
• $10 bill is a "sawbuck", a "ten-spot", or a "Hamilton".
• $20 bill as a "Jackson", or a "dub", or a "double sawbuck".
• Among horse-race gamblers, the $50 bill is called a "frog" and is considered unlucky. It is sometimes referred to as a "Grant".
• $100 bill is occasionally "C-note" (C being the Roman numeral for 100, from the Latin word centum) or "century note"; it can also be referred to as a "Benjamin" or "Benny" (after Benjamin Franklin, who is pictured on the note), or a "yard" (so $300 is "3 yards" and a $50 bill is a "half a yard"). "A rack" is $1,000 in the form of ten $100 bills, banded by a bank or otherwise.
• Amounts above $1000 US dollars are occasionally referred to as "large" ("twenty large" being $20,000, etc.). In slang, a thousand dollars may also be referred to as a "grand" or "G", "K" (as in kilo), or less commonly a "stack", a "bozo", as well as a "band" . For example, "The repairs to my car cost me a couple grand" or "The repairs to my car cost me a couple [of] stacks".
• $100,000 US dollars is called a "brick" or a "honey bun".

Banknotes may be collectively referred to as "dead Presidents", although neither Alexander Hamilton ($10) nor Benjamin Franklin ($100) was President. These are also referred to as "wallet-sized portraits of Presidents" – referring to the fact that people typically carry pictures in their wallets.

"Greenback" originally applied specifically to the 19th century Demand Note dollars created by Abraham Lincoln to finance the costs of the American Civil War for the North. The original note was printed in black and green on the back side. It is still used to refer to the U.S. dollar (but not to the dollars of other countries).

Other more general terms for money, not specifically linked to actual banknotes:

• Monetary units larger than 1 dollar are often referred to by the names of their coin counterparts: $5 is a "nickel", $10 is a "dime", and $25 is a "quarter".
• A one hundred dollar bill can also be called a buck, or a "dollar", but since a buck is also used for one dollar, the context needs to be clear (this continues the pattern of referring to values by the coin counterpart).
• A million dollars is sometimes called a "rock", popularized by several TV shows and movies, most recently The Sopranos: in one episode Tony Soprano states, "So adjusting for inflation I'm looking at half a rock?" In a separate episode Soprano states: "This whole thing is going to cost me close to a rock." Another slang term for a million dollars is an "M", as used in rap songs. Financial institutions and applications will often use "MM" when writing shorthand for a million dollars, as a million is the product of the Roman numeral "M" (1000) times itself. More common usage is a "mil".
• A "yard" is a financial term for one billion dollars, deriving from the word "milliard", (which sounds like mill-yard when pronounced) which is used in some European languages and is equivalent to the number one billion used in American English.

See also[]

• Money
• Digital currency
• World currency

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Brewer, E. Cobham (1978). Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Avenel Books. ISBN 0-517-25921-4.

External links[]

Look up dime, greenback, lucre, quid, or readies in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Glossary of money terms at Hemyockcastle.co.uk