# Slang terms for money **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238 "2018-07-03T17:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/41 "2018-07-04T13:12:30Z")
“Bread” as slang for money is something I’ve only seen in Archie comics. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/42 "2018-07-04T13:56:16Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I still like to use “moolah” to mean a bunch of money, no specific amount or denomination. “Moolah” was the first that came to mind for me, as well. Around here, at least, I’ve also heard “buck” to refer to hundred dollar denominations, too, depending on context. (Actually, it’s a little more general than that, now that I think about it. It’s just slang for “a hundred.” So you could weigh a buck fifty, cruise down the highway at a buck twenty, or buy a new TV for three bucks.) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/43 "2018-07-04T14:13:22Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > “toonie” for the 2 dollar coin. I’m still salty that ‘doubloon’ didn’t catch on. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/44 "2018-07-04T15:22:10Z")
Cockney land has a plethora of slang for money. [See here.](http://aldertons.com/home/money/). My personal favourite and most used would be “shrapnel” for any diverse amount of loose change ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/45 "2018-07-04T15:52:45Z")
Guinea Crown (…come back in less than five minutes, I’ll give you half a crown! – Scrooge) Mazoolah (sp?) --another Krusty term ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/46 "2018-07-04T17:00:19Z")
“Guinea” and “crown” were not slang terms. They were actual denominations. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/47 "2018-07-04T17:35:59Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > This ought to do it: > > [Slang terms for money - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slang_terms_for_money) [More for the Eurozone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_and_the_euro). The reasons buck is dubbed as _pavo_ are that the mouth looks similar and the rythm is similar; you get acceptablish visuals and a good flow. Other terms from Spain: _duro_ used to be the nick for a 5 peseta coin; now it is used for a 5 cent coin. 1ç are often called _pesetas_ or _pesetillas_ (often in constructions such as “oh God, don’t give me the pesetillas!”) The term _perra_ used to refer to a peseta, to money in general (specially money in coin form), and _perra chica_ and _perra gorda_ to specific coins (5 cent of peseta coin and 10 cent of peseta coin, respectively). > [@Frodo](#): > > In rioplatense Spanish: > > Guita We use guita in Spain as well. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/48 "2018-07-04T19:52:28Z")
Bucks is common in my region. I only use it for small amounts. Dinner at McDonald’s is about 7 bucks a person. You could say that the new fridge cost 900 bucks. I typically wouldn’t. But other people might. Short for sawbuck. I’ve never heard that spoken. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/49 "2018-07-04T21:41:57Z")
Cite. > **[Why Do We Call Dollars 'Bucks'?](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-do-we-call-dollars-bucks_n_5b32b4e0e4b0b745f178a273/amp)** > > Inside the origin of the common slang term. > [@](#): > > One idea is that “buck” is just a shortened form of the word “sawbuck,” which is slang for a $10 bill. This is thought to be because one of the earliest $10 bills featured the Roman numeral X, which resembles a “sawbuck” a frame for holding wood to be chopped and sawed. > > Although “sawbuck” meant a $10 bill, the shortened “buck” generally referred to the U.S. paper currency introduced in the 1860s and later came to specify one dollar, according to Russell A. Potter, a professor of English and media studies at Rhode Island College. > > In a discussion on historian Mary Miley Theobald’s History Myths Debunked blog, Potter wrote, “The derivation of buck (dollar) from the trade in deerskins is (in my view) unlikely, as the usage is quite scarce prior to the introduction of paper currency.” ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/50 "2018-07-04T22:41:28Z")
Shrapnel for a bunch of small denomination coins that accumulate in your purse/bag. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/51 "2018-07-05T00:05:16Z")
Lettuce ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/52 "2018-07-05T01:28:53Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > And has been rarely used since the Seventies. I was listening to Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” the other day, and the “they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar” line made me wonder if that would make sense to a twentysomething. Make sense? Sure. Be used? Not at all. It’s an easy jump from dough to bread, and dough is still used. Clams is well known, and it’s a food. Speaking of music, we already said jingle, but what about jangle, as in Dierks Bentley’s “I Hold On”? _Its just an old beat up truck Some say that I should trade up Now that I got some jangle in my pocket_ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/53 "2018-07-05T02:14:44Z")
Slang or jargon seems to stick with people throughout their lives. My grandparents always referred to their ice box. They knew it was a fridge. But used the outdated term. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Nova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@Just\_Nova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Nova)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/54 "2018-07-05T07:23:27Z")
From Indonesia, Jakarta area; 1. Duit 2. Hepeng ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/55 "2018-07-05T11:20:10Z")
Suitcase: peti, 1 lakh, 100,000 rupees A suitcase-load of money… ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/56 "2018-07-05T11:25:51Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > piece of eight = a Spanish dollar, worth 8 reales. Made out of eight pieces, which could be torn apart. Two bits: a quarter of a dollar. 1 point: 0.125, an eighth of a dollar (stock market). Since replaced by decimal points, a tenth of a dollar ---
**Author:** ![MickNickMaggies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@MickNickMaggies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MickNickMaggies)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/57 "2018-07-05T13:15:42Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > un sac, une brique, des thunes… > > le grisbi, le magot… du fric Oseille (in France, anyhow) Baksheesh- a backhander, tip, etc. Edit: I’ve heard YoYos for euros ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/58 "2018-07-06T05:32:05Z")
This reminds me that there’s an episode of **Daria** where she and Jane have a series of bets. Each time they demand the other pay up, they use a different slang term for money. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/59 "2018-07-06T17:59:29Z")
In Ivory Coast French, _le pia_ (probably from French piece, coin) or _le fric_ ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238/60 "2018-07-07T13:05:20Z")
Damon Runyon sometimes used “potatoes.” Sky Masterson lost all of his potatoes betting a guy that St. Louis was the biggest city in the world. Never heard it in the wild though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slang-terms-for-money/817238.md?page=4)