Money slang
 

Had to laugh....waiting in the queue at the grocery store and the guy in front was a Brit...he goes to pay and says "Oh I'll just get rid of some of this shrapnel" lady looks at him and says "pardon me" he realises what he's said and he looks at me and I laugh! I wonder how many old sayings I come out with that no one has a clue about!

Re: Money slang
 

They seem to understand when you say it with enough menace.

Re: Money slang
 

Shrapnel? Not heard that one before.

Re: Money slang
 

Used in most parts of the UK to describe the small denomination coins, usually the copper ones, and by Brits all over the Eurozone to describe the millions of copped cents, that just get everywhere.

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*in the 1950s.

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Nor me.
I wasn't around for much of the 50s so maybe that explains why I don't know it. :unsure:

Re: Money slang
 

I was around in the 50's and I've not used it before. Nevertheless I would have understood what he meant by the phrase in this context. Extending the meaning of shrapnel to a collection of loose metal coins shouldn't have resulted in a blank face.

Re: Money slang
 

What about younger people for whom 'shrapnel' has no meaning regardless of context? There must be some who grew up after war movies stopped playing on TV as regularly as in my day. :nod:

Make some comment about the American GI having his helmet straps dangling as he smokes a last cigarette and the knowing look you get from someone over 50 will likely be a blank look from someone under 40 :lol:

Re: Money slang
 

How do you suppose that a Canadian in 2017 would realise that the shopper's reference was to a collection of loose change?

Re: Money slang
 

Depends where the "Canadian" came from. I shouldn't think that a huge stretch for Canadians originally from the middle east.

Last week I proposed walking around to the front of the building, rather than walking in through the loading dock, "ooh, the half crown entrance" said my colleague. Now that would be a challenge for a Canadian to unscramble.

Re: Money slang
 

But since the thread is titled "money slang", we, as children in Newcastle in the 1950s, used to call a threepenny bit a "lurgy". Threepenny was pronounced threpenny and the 12 sided coin was worth roughly the same as the new 12-sided pound coin is worth today.

Re: Money slang
 

A thrupnee bit, you mean, half a tanner?

Re: Money slang
 

Quite.

Re: Money slang
 

...in turn, half a bob.

I think we're on safer grounds here. Even BristolUK remembers bob.

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Perhaps the word shrapnel isn't in common use in Canada but it should be understood with so many wars being so well publicised. I have never been in the forces or engaged in conflict, but I know what the word means.
Extending it's use to describe any collection of small metal objects in this context probably brought about an instant of misunderstanding, but I suspect that given a few more seconds the assistant would have understood completely.

Re: Money slang
 

So, a full tanner could be called "knockers", given that it's two thrupnees?

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I remember farthings but only in terms of 4 mojos, blackjacks or fruit salads for a penny. Or 2 for a ha'penny.

I vaguely recall a tanner also being a kick.

Re: Money slang
 

I was born in the late 80's and I've heard people say it.

Maybe it's a North West / Lancashire thing. Pretty sure my Grandad used to say it too.

Re: Money slang
 

I was born in the 50s, but then we didn't use slang in our house. ;)

Later on I moved to the wicked city and learned such terms as: Folding, dosh, wonga, mulla, shekels.

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Yes, half a crown being 2 and a kick.

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.. and an oxford scholar.. dollar.. five shillings

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If this happened in front of the cashier and the shopper was jingling coins in his pocket while he said it, you mean?

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It's best not to pay too much attention to men "jingling coins" in their pockets.

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Perhaps this is the thread to retell the tale of the Young American. We sent the Young American to London for work. Before doing so we taught him the currency, twenty shillings to the pound, twelve pennies to the shilling and so on. We taught him all the slang terms and loaded him up with ten bob notes and florins and all the rest of it. Being a computer bod and a mathematician he was fascinated to see how people dealt with things costing amounts like ten and sixpence three farthings in day-to-day transactions.

I don't remember what year it was but it was this century so he was able to call me from the Gatwick train, on which he had tried to buy a beer in shillings, to explain that he knew I knew about decimalisation. People think Americans can't take a joke and don't know how to swear, they're wrong.

Re: Money slang
 

I was born in the 70s in Shropshire and its a phrase used in our house!!

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Pocket billiards anyone? :rofl:

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Shrapnel for change is common usage where I'm from in Scotland...

I've also heard it described as "smush"

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I have heard the term 'shrapnel' occasionally and use it myself in the UK. While hardly an everyday term, people do still use it.

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As I began reading that it suddenly occurred to me I wasn't sure I ever read you saying how it turned out. Now I know. :lol:

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I've always called small change "church money". I can't remember where it came from - maybe my Australian grandmother. People who have never heard it used before always understand what it is. Especially church-goers, I expect.

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Well, as you could also expect, I've always called 10% of my after tax income "tythe".

Re: Money slang
 

We have a "beer pool" weekly draw in our office. There are 20 members and we all have our own number, between 1 and 20. We all put in 2 dollars every week. A draw is made from a bag containing the numbers 1 - 20 on them. The number drawn wins the pot of money for the week - which must be spent on beer.

Now....when we go around collecting the 2 dollars from each person before the draw, the term shrapnel is commonly used as some who havent won it for a while have a bitter and twisted attitude and say "oh you can have all this sharpnel as im not going to win it anyway!!" and put in 2 dollars worth of dimes and nickels - we even call the one guy the shrapnel king! To be fair he hasnt won many times so hes all bitter about the whole thing now! Lol!!

Im not sure if they knew the shrapnel term before, maybe they got it from me. :thumbup:

Re: Money slang
 

Shrapnel is a term used by our family, passed down from grandparents, to parents, to us.

Re: Money slang
 

I use a simpler word.

Shoes.

Seriously, how many pairs of footwear does a woman really need?

Re: Money slang
 

Not many. Some winter boots for walking, some winter boots for everyday, some sandals for summer, muckers for gardening, walking shoes, swimming shoes, running shoes, posh shoes for daytime, posh shoes for nighttime, slippers of course. Driving shoes come in handy too.

Re: Money slang
 

You are not really telling us everything, are you?

My male sixth-sense tells me that you have more pairs of footwear than that.

And want more.

Re: Money slang
 

Ackshally, shoes don't do it for me and as I never go anywhere I don't need many. I have one pair of boots, a couple of pairs of Sketchers, Birkenstocks, and gardening shoes. That's it.

However I do like a nice handbag or two.

Re: Money slang
 

I have always used Shrapnel. I worked in a Pub when I was younger, an elderly Gentleman ordered a pint, as I was pouring it he started to count out a handful of change. I said to him that I was grateful for the Shrapnel as the till was short of change and the manager wont be back for an hour or so. He smiled and pulled out his driving license......His name was Mr Shrapnel :D