Coin, greed and the small change of everyday life.
A colloquial and rather robust term for ready money or cash.
It sounds far more aggressive to demand ones rhino than a mere pittance.
“If you have the rhino, the finest tailor in London will be at your service within the hour.”
First appearing in the late 17th century, it is thought to be a cant term, perhaps related to the rhinoceros due to its strength or tough hide.
The Old English ancestor of 'fee', referring to money, cattle, or property.
A guttural reminder that our modern bank accounts are merely civilized herds.
“In the ancient sagas, a man's worth was measured not just in land, but in the count of his feoh.”
An Old English term related to the Proto-Germanic fehu, meaning cattle or wealth.
A Northern English dialect term used to denote money, particularly in the context of wealth.
Brutally honest and gloriously unrefined, just like the northern hills.
“Where there is muck, there is brass, or so the old Yorkshire saying goes.”
A regional development recorded in the English Dialect Dictionary, reflecting the Victorian obsession with industrial grit.
An allowance or a specific portion of money or goods granted to someone.
A truncated little word that feels like a small coin slipping through a hole in the pocket.
“He checked his pockets to see if his daily lowance would stretch to a third glass of ale.”
An aphetic form of the word allowance, appearing in 18th-century colloquial speech.
A large amount of money, often acquired through corrupt or illicit means.
A word so deliciously shady you can almost hear the rustle of stolen banknotes.
“After the scandal broke, the politician fled the country with the entire boodle.”
Likely from the Dutch 'boedel' meaning estate or property, appearing in 18th-century American and British slang.
A Scottish dialect term for money or silver.
A word with a metallic ring that feels quite at home in a rainy glen.
“It takes a fair amount of siller to keep a drafty castle warm in the highlands.”
A Northern Middle English and Scots variant of 'silver', reflecting the historic connection between coinage and precious metal.
Cash or money immediately available for spending.
Because nothing is ever quite as convenient as having the ready to hand.
“He had plenty of credit at the club, but not a bit of the ready in his pocket.”
Short for 'ready money', this usage has been common in colloquial British English since the mid-17th century.
An ancient term for a hide, skin, or by extension, the price or value of such goods.
A primitive, rugged way to describe the value of one's possessions.
“The merchant bartered his finest fell for a chest of tea and a bag of grain.”
Derived from the Old English 'fell', it predates modern currency, grounding value in the tactile reality of animal pelts.
A halfpenny; a very small sum indeed.
The sound of almost nothing.
“He hadn't a bawbee to his name.”
16th-century Scots, from the Laird of Sillebawby, who minted them.
pelfnoun · Middle English Money or riches, usually ill-gotten.
Wealth with a criminal record.
“He chased pelf from Cheapside to Calais.”
Middle English, from Old French pelfre, 'spoils'.
A small Dutch coin; figuratively, a trifle.
Foreign small change, politely sneered at.
“Not worth a stiver, and he knew it.”
17th century, from Dutch stuiver.