Comments on: A bit of nostalgia

By: Graham

Graham — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:39:50 +0000

And how about “two and a kick” for two shillings and sixpence, or “half a dollar” from the days when there were 4 dollars to the pound?

In the early 1980s, when postage rates were much lower than now, I asked a Post Office counter clerk for some “tenpence ha’penny stamps” and he completely failed to understand me until I re-phrased it as “ten and a half pence”. He was middle aged, so his age couldn’t explain his lack of understanding.

And did you know that “groat” was once pronounced ‘grawt’ (-oa as in “broad”)?

By: Paul Carley

Paul Carley — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 09:56:26 +0000

Having a lot of /el es di:/ can make you feel quite gay!
How many youngsters would catch your meaning if you said that these days?

By: Martin Ball

Martin Ball — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:36:29 +0000

Sorry – a noble was 6/8 (later 8/4)!

By: Martin Ball

Martin Ball — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:21:15 +0000

Even earlier there was the groat (=4d) and back further still, the noble (6/11 or six shillings and eleven pence).

It’s worth perhaps remembering that although Austria swapped the Schilling for the Euro, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania still use the Shilling as their unit of currency.

By: Marc Leavitt

Marc Leavitt — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:14:16 +0000

Excellent explanation. As an American who majored in English, I got used to the British terminology including the slang terms, but I always assumed a guinea was another term for pound. Now that you’ve brought it up, I’ll go to Wikipedia to find out if I’m right.

By: Michael Everson

Michael Everson — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:06:33 +0000

“Quid” means “euros”, of course, on this side of the Irish sea.