I've always wondered where the different terms for money come from. So the other night I started doing some Google searching. Here's what I came up with.
Bacon - In the middle ages, among the British, having this food in the house was considered a sign of prosperity. 'Bringing home the bacon' was the new slang when games of catching a greased pig at county fairs took effect.
Buck(s) - This became popular in the mid 1850's. It was an abbreviation for buckskin, a unit of exchange in the west.
Bread / Dough - A main staple in numerous peoples lives and has been equated with cash for centuries.
Moolah - mill, from le moulin - This word may be the origin of the English slang meaning of "moolah" as "money", as mills are even today equated with income in the Northwest.
Cash on the Barrel - The barrels used as informal counters in old-time general stores or to merchants refusing to hand over a barrel containing goods until it had been paid for.
Greenback - A nickname originally applied in the 19th century because of the color of paper money.
Smackers - This referred to the sound the clamshells made on the string. It was also heard in the 1920's and referred to the sound when coins weresmacked down on a counter.
Do you know of any other slang words for money? If so, I'd like to know.
Friday, August 03, 2007
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