The new UK government is giving plenty of reasons for the UK not to join the Euro and have the same currency as the rest of Europe, and while it is true it would be so much easier to travel around Europe with one currency, and perhaps there are economic advantages to there being an extended Eurozone there is one compelling reason not to lose the pounds. This is the richness and variety of slang that surrounds the pounds and the British currency. The way we talk about money is a reflection of a long history and a particular relationship with a currency. The UK has only had decimal currency since 1971 – before that it was even more idiosyncratic with pounds, shillings and pence and with that an even richer linguistic story. I doubt that people feel this kind of affection for the Euro!

When you are a student at UIC in London you may be surprised how many different ways there are of talking about money – here are some to give you a bit of help! If you really want to have a look in more detail at the history of money in the UK then this website – businessballs.com is a fantastic source of material wiwth some wionderful stories

An Ayrton = £10 (rhyming slang with Ayrton Senna and a tenner the Brazilian racing driver)

Big Ben = £10 (again rhyming slang)

Brass, Dosh, Bread, spondoolicks, Wonga, Wedge, (wedged-up = having a lot of money in your pocket),Wad are all alternative slang expressions for money!

Fiver = £5

Ton = £100

G or a grand = £1000

Monkey = £500

Pony = £25

Quid = £1

Score = £20

Shrapnel = loose change / coins

Sov = £1 (short for a soverign which was an old gold pound coin)

There are also some reasons why you should check out the situaiton – various notes go out of circulation for example the old design for the £20 has just been taken out . If you have any of these you’ll need to go to a bank and change them – shops won’t accept them. Check the Bank of England website for the latest on what is valid currency.

And finally here are a few idioms which use money and which will help you on your journey to fluency!

Money doesn’t grow on trees = you have to work to get money – there is no easy way fo getting it without working!

Money for old rope = being paid for doign somethign which is very easy and requires no skill or effort

Money talks = you can usually get what you want by spending money – perhaps bribing someone

Money to burn = you have too much money – usually becasue you are too rich

Money burning a hole in your pocket = you are desperate to spend money

This entry was posted on Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Learning English, Life in London. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.