Notes and Queries

We are getting an ever-increasing number of questions and queries from users of the site. So we decided to share them with the world! These are questions that have come to us through our contact form. If you think the answers we've given are pony then write in and let us know.

It is worth mentioning that many of the answers on this page are derived from Eric Partridge's brilliant Dictionary of Slang (Routledge 8th Edition).

Here's a request from Aran Wood ...

I'm trying to gather an exhaustive as possible list of slang for money and numbers. I've made progress but I'd appreciate any input you might be able to give me. Here's what I've got so far - some are somewhat spurious or unexplained to say the least.

1/2 - to make you laugh
1 - Wunner
2 - Bottle (of glue)
3(00) - Carpet (why? 3-ft length of carpet in your prison cell after a certain time?)
4
5 - lady godiva
6
7
8
9
10 - tenner
20 - score
25 - pony (why?)
50 - nifty
100 - ton, wunner
500 - monkey (why?)
1000 - grand

Anybody shed any more light on these? Cheers, Gordon

And in a similar vein, Bob Goodwin asks ...

What is the connection between Pony and £25, also the connection between Monkey and £500 please. This something I have pondered for a looong time.

Well all we know so far is that both pony and monkey are used both in London but also in America, and frequently by stock brokers in both countries. In all cases pony refers to 25 (£25 or £25,000 of stock if you are a stockbroker). And monkey is £500 or £50,000 worth of stock. In the US monkey means $500. Pony could be derived from the fact it is a small sum of money, and a pony is a small horse. But that's all we know, so far ...

Gordon writes: The great "petrols" debate. Since we asked where petrols derives from, we have had quite a few responses! Read on ...

Michael Kitchen writes: Sylvanus F. Bowser founded the firm S.F.Bowser and invented the self-propelled mobile tanker that bears his name. Petrol bowsers would have been seen frequently on air force bases refuelling airplanes, particularly during WWII.

Kelly writes: I'm from NZ, and my grandfather used to call a petrol station a "Bowser." Trouser rhymes with bowser.....he was a cockney. Whaddya reckon? We still use the word bowser for petrol station - and have heard it from other kiwis.

Jane Walker writes: My dad (no longer with us!) was a true cockney and always referred to his trousers as petrols. I have a vague memory of him explaining this as something to do with 'petrol browsers'. Nobody else has ever heard of this. Can you throw any light on it. Many thanks.

Gordon writes: sorry Jane - not come across this one and I don't know where it comes from. Anybody else got any ideas?

Margaret Wilson writes: Can you tell me where the word stum, like in not telling anyone, for instance, "He's keeping stum on that one."

Gordon writes: easy one this. Shtoom or schtum means to keep quiet or "act dumb". It is simply derived from the German word stumm meaning dumb or silent.

Jonny H writes: In the film 'The Buisness' the word Ream gets used twice as a way of saying "good", do you know the exact slang for 'Ream'?

Gordon writes: a rare one this, but it is not Cockney Rhyming Slang, it's just slang, and dates back to the 1800s. It simply means genuine, honest, honourable or above-board.

John Devlin writes: Strides. My Dad (a Dubliner) still uses this phrase to describe men's trousers! He is 70 years old but I can recall even back in late 1960's and 1970's he would say "I bought a new pair of strides today" or, "Look at his strides" meaning someone wearing a ridiculous pair of trousers - is it shortened rhyming slang or does it just mean "striding out" re 1960's culture?

Gordon writes: I'm quoting direct from Partridge here: "Trousers: theatrical, and probably market traders as early as about 1904. Commonly used in Australia since about 1924. Common in the British underworld and its fringes, e.g. in Borstals and detention centres, strides = "Civilian trousers (civvies)". Not rhyming slang - probably derived from the fact that trousers are the clothes in which you stride.

Wayne Follett writes: can you please tell me why the word drum was used for house or home. i can't find any reference to it. keep up the good work. it's blindin

Gordon writes: no doubt that the word is used, probably all over the country, to mean a home. It doesn't seem to be rhyming slang though. References to the word go back to about 1840 to 1850. The word drom was used in Romany to mean street or road. It has also been used to mean a prison cell, or brothel.

Gareth writes: Some of my clients refer to their prison cells as peters, where does this come from?

It seems that peter is an old-fashioned word for a safe, or a trunk made from tool-proof steel, usually with a cement lining. It's probable that this led to the word being used to mean a prison cell. Meaning prison cell the word has been use in Britain and in Australia since about 1880. It can also mean a prison itself, or a witness box.

Katie from the UK writes: In the series Minder they use a lot of slang. Can anyone help with the meaning of Snap Dragon and what would the word Lemonade is used with and what its english translation is? Thanks!

Gordon writes: well Katie, no idea about Snap Dragon. As for lemonade, could it mean a teetotaller? If you could give the whole sentence it would be much easier to guess.

Deirdre from the University of Nebraska (I think!) writes: I was wondering where the saying "Bob's your uncle" originated and what it means, also "you couldn't swing a cat in here" meaning and origin please ?? Thank you

Gordon from Cockney Rhyming Slang writes. Weeelll. Neither are rhyming slang and but here goes. Bob's your uncle means all will be well. It's been around since 1890 and is used in Australia as well as Britain. Still heavily used though I have heard more and more people saying things like "Bob's your Auntie's partner", or "Bob's your Auntie's significant other" etc, which updates it. Eric Partridge suggests it could derive from the slang phrase all is bob, meaning "all is safe".

Not enough room to swing a cat dates from the days of the great ships, around 1770, and means a cramped space. A cat was a cat-o'nine-tails, a whip swung about on ships quite often! See this Wikipedia page for a close look at the cat.

Further quote from Wikipedia! The common phrase, "not enough room to swing a cat," is often claimed to refers to a cat o' nine tails. However, there are examples of this usage that predate the use of the cat o' nine tails (ie before 1695) and the phrase more likely refers to the practice of putting a live cat in a leather bottle and setting it swinging as a target for marksmen. For example, Shakespeare, in Much Ado About Nothing, writes: "Hang me in a bottle like a cat, and shoot at me."

Elizabeth writes: nick love uses "si" in a lot of his films, can you tell me what it means please?

Hmm, haven't got a clue, Elizabeth. Anybody else got any ideas on this one?

Danny writes: In your notes and queries section there are a few questions referring to the use of 'Si' in Nick Loves Films. Im not 100% sure on this, but I am lead to beleive that it means Sigh, as in, boring, ie a boring person. i am also lead to beleive that it may be a abbreviation for Stupid idiot. Sorry this isnt 100% precise but it part awnsers the question at least, hope this helps! Danny.

Additional comment from Whitey: Elizibeth, the word 'si' comes from the old classc 'simple simon', as when someone is stupid you call them a 'si' or as more recently a 'simon'.

Rob West writes: This is conjecture, but isn't this nothing more than the word "see"? It can be used (in much the same way as "well" or "look") to introduce direct discourse,change the subject, to emphasize uncertainty ("see, I'm not so sure...") to lessen a confrontation, to invite attention or rapport,to ask agreement or understanding ("see?") or merely to fill space. There are other functions as well. This goes back a long way in English.Take a glance at Fluellen's use of "look you" in Henry V. I might add that I ran this by my relatives in dear old Blighty, and that's how they understood it. See?

Tyrone SFB writes: On Snatch, Bricktop calls someone a fringe, what is a fringe? Cheers Tyrone

Tyrone there's a lot of slang used in those films that we have never heard of before. As for this particular one we haven't a scooby doo I am sorry to say! If anybody else knows what it's about, drop us a note.

Mary Watson writes: "My Dogs are Barking" meaning that my feet are hurting/aching. Where does this come from please?

Well Mary, it seems that the expression dogs meaning feet is an old American expression from about 1935 and which came to England from there. There's an English variation, dogs that bite that fell out of favour but was in use about 1945. However my dogs are barking is a natural progression from the expression dogs and it's the one that you hear a lot today in Britain.

Elizabeth writes: nick love uses "si" in a lot of his films, can you tell me what it means please?

Elizabeth, the only version of "si" I can think of is the word Si in Spanish, meaning "yes". Does this make any sense in the context of your films?