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Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Posted by V_V
V_V
member, 1011 posts
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 00:03
  • msg #1

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Too long/ don't want to read version: What currency do you you use, and what slang if any do you use?

The rub:
So I am feeling a bit under the weather. So I'm only on site replying to some Rmails and taking it easy, but I wanted to ask a rather innocuous question (a bit random as well). How often do you (or in games you play if you want to answer it that way) use accepted main stream slang for the main unit of currency.

I used the dollar, and for the most part I get fussy to have to use any other word. Bucks is the only slang I thing of, and tolerate others using that term. I do use grand, large, or big ones though; but that's seldom an amount I speak of, so by that nature I seldom use it.

Now, of any English speaking media, I think I dive most headlong into British media. Numerphile (and Brady's other channels to a lesser extent(, some comics like Richard Ayoade, a bunch of actors; I couldn't name them all.

As an aside, a complete unforgivable tengent, I LOVE German industrial music, some J-pop, and absolutely love Compass with Merethe Soltvedt. So I spend hours each day listening to words in non-english speech/singing. *back on track*

I notice a LOT of british celebrities use Quid, almost exclusively. I really only hear them say Pound about 8% of the time.

So my question is twofold.

What is the "official" currency you use IRL (or in a game you're well versed and deep into) and what slang (if any) do you use most comfortably.?

In my decades in exalted and D&D, I used "notes" as most characters who were wealthy (and most were) they wouldn't carry actual dinars, and instead would have Guild bank notes. This is sort of a nebulous slang for D&D "wheatsheaf/gold" depending what is "official" in your D&D games. The "official" is Wheatsheef (sp?) but that would only come up in Dyvers when our rogue would be getting down to brass tacks of getting us paid. It was otherwise gold, which is basically the defacto slang, like butt or such is for buttocks.

Mostly in day to day talk of money I use the word dollar. I even actively refuse to interract with cents, so will just round up (as any one should pragmatically) even if people I'm talking to get cause on the trees and miss the forest. I also tend to be formal, even in casual chatting, so stick to the explicit "official" currency of the states (where I do almost all my commerce). When I have seen a grand, I'll call it that though. In my past years as a barely adult petty criminal, I would also use big ones or large depending on the audience. Not that I ever committed felony, but with accrued misdemeanors (I was never convicted of and have pass statute of limitations on) I would trade out when I was nearing that in street value, even though I'd never se nearly that much from a fence. On that note, I discontinued that lifestyle of crime nearly two decades ago, and have been happy to struggle honestly, rather than see that amount, and all the strings attached.

So thank you for reading my indulgent and rambling post.

What currency do you you use, and what slang if any do you use?
This message was last edited by the user at 00:06, Fri 01 July 2022.
NowhereMan
member, 480 posts
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 00:31
  • msg #2

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

I also use the dollar. When it comes to slang, it seems to depend on how large the amount is. Something being "a couple bucks" is pretty common, but if I want to emphasize a particularly large or shocking amount, the dumber the better. For instance, "I like that miniature a lot, but they're asking three hundred dollary-doos".
1492
member, 36 posts
I like monkeys
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 00:53
  • msg #3

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

IRL...

$1 = one dollar = a buck = a one (as in, "do you have any ones?") = a single
$100 = a hundred = c-note = benjamin = "hundy"
$1000 = $1k = a grand
one million dollars = a mil

In some financial circles they'll use $1M to indicate a thousand dollars and $1MM to indicate a million.

Off the top of my head those are all the terms I come across regularly in the U.S.
V_V
member, 1012 posts
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 01:30
  • msg #4

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Benjamin! Yes, I totally forgot. I will use that term if the actual bill is $100. Or if I'm paid in Benjamins. Yes.

I'm more curios what people use, rather than what could be used. The dollary-doos I like. :) That does make sense, to give succinct commentary by inflection. It's quite outrageous to play 300 dollary-doos for a miniature. Not for some people, but for very few people I know will consider that with any comfort. I know some hardcore Wh40k that struggle with money, but probably have around ten grand in street value that they possess. To me, and most people I know, it has to be fairly important pieces (and plural!) to reach that first hundred. I purchased a second hand "lot" of about sixty D&D minis for $80, and boy did I use them any chance I played with a battlemap.

Again though, I unforgivably go off topic!
Radnoff
member, 92 posts
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 14:00
  • msg #5

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Sawbuck = $10 dollar bill.
Sir Swindle
member, 330 posts
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 14:35
  • msg #6

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Nickel and Dime can colloquially apply to literally any unit of 5 or 10. $500 a nickel. $10 million a dime. So long as the scale is clear.

SO buying a $100,000 Mercedes or something and they knock a Nickel off the price then you are getting it for $95,000
StarMaster
member, 393 posts
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 15:14
  • msg #7

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

As opposed to terms I use, I few others come to mind:

greenback (mostly from the Kingston Trio song)

clams: usually referring to a dollar as in 100 clams

smackeroos: along the same line as clams; also just smackers, but I've also heard smackaroonies

fin: short for finif, which both mean a 5 dollar bill

spot: usually as in 'can you lend me a 5-spot?'

deuce: I thought it referred to a $20-dollar bill, but apparently a $2 bill

simoleons: like clams

I've also heard 'cheddar' used, but don't have a context for it.

Probably clams and smackeroos are the only ones I've used in games.

Check out Wikiepedia's entry "Slang Terms for Money".
phoenix9lives
member, 1099 posts
A brain driving a bone
mecha with flesh armor
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 15:42
  • msg #8

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Greenbacks were an attempt by Abraham Lincoln to produce a money controlled by the people to pay for the Civil War, rather than by the banks (The Federal Reserve).
This message was last edited by the user at 15:43, Fri 01 July 2022.
evileeyore
member, 705 posts
GURPS GM and Player
Joined 20150819
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 15:47
  • msg #9

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

V_V:
What is the "official" currency you use IRL (or in a game you're well versed and deep into) and what slang (if any) do you use most comfortably.?

Depends on the game.  Some games have deliberately odd currency to be evocative, some don't.  In an American Civil War era game, 'greenback' might be commonly used down South to describe the newly minted paper currency of the US (and said by others who hated/didn't understand fiat currency and thought coined money was more secure), but meaningless up North where most said "demand notes".  The phrase made a mild resurgence again in the 70s in the US when we ditched the Silver Standard.

In one game I have a character that has his head stuffed with every possible bit of information you can think of and then information that doesn't even exist in that world... he uses tons of colloquial phrases for 'money' when speaking informally, but makes an effort to use the local currency words and slang when trying to be precise.  He has confused plenty so far with some of his 'mad' and overly pedantic ramblings.

To be fair V_V, it would take far too long to list out every colloquial I've used...

But I'm now co-running a Fallout game where the currency is 'caps', as in bottle-caps from a specific brand of pre-war soda.
This message was lightly edited by the user at 15:48, Fri 01 July 2022.
donsr
member, 2620 posts
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 15:55
  • msg #10

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

 for my games,  there is the standard    coin for the fantasy game, with some  'nicknames' fro  certain kinds.

 the football game is   currant  dollars, since it 'modern' times

 The Space game  has   credits.. Plastic  ship  or  folding credits..common slang is  'creds'

 all gameshave slang and  acronyms  for things used , to give the game thier own  feeling...since its Homebrew system and world, people 'pick up' on it  as they and their charcacters  grow. which? is great, ebcause that's what happens  in RL , when folks go somewhere  differant

 so? best advice, , Make your own, or use  something that you saw in a book or movie.
Tileira
member, 532 posts
Fri 1 Jul 2022
at 21:39
  • msg #11

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

IRL "pound" in a formal capacity, and "quid" in a casual or dismissive context. But sometimes, we don't use a word at all.


Example 1:
"How much is that one?"
"Two-hundred and fifty."

Example 2:
"So that will be forty-seven pound and forty-eight pence. Are you paying by cash or card?"

Example 3:
"How much did that cost you?"
"I don't know. Three quid? Not much."
bigbadron
moderator, 16112 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Sat 2 Jul 2022
at 02:58

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Some British ones (originally East End of London, but now more widespread):

£1 – Nicker/Nugget/Alan Whicker

£5 – Deep Sea Diver/Lady Godiva

£10 – Ayrton Senna/Cock and Hen/Cockle

£20 – Score

£25 – Pony

£50 – Bullseye

£100 – Ton

£500 – Monkey
This message was last edited by the user at 03:31, Sat 02 July 2022.
Jarodemo
member, 971 posts
My hovercraft
is full of eels
Sun 3 Jul 2022
at 10:38
  • msg #13

Re: Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Tileira:
Example 1:
"How much is that one?"
"Two-hundred and fifty."


We might even just say "Two Fifty" and not bother with the hundred. So it would be context based. You would know that Two Fifty for a coffee is 2 pounds and 50 pence, but for a tablet computer it would be 250 pounds.



General British usage:

£5 - Fiver

£10 - Tenner


Less common:

£100 - One-er


Cockney rhyming slang:

Bag / Bag of Sand = Grand = £1000



Generic street slang, though not sure if it is more from movies than real life:

"Sovs" short for Sovereigns but meaning pounds, as in "How much?" "That's fifty sovs to you mate." So price would be £50


*** And don't forget we used to use Pounds, Shillings and Pence. We only decimalised in 1971.
This message was last edited by the user at 10:41, Sun 03 July 2022.
Greymist
member, 23 posts
Sun 3 Jul 2022
at 20:42
  • msg #14

Re: Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

In Canada the currency is the dollar.

We share many slang terms with the USA and the UK.

buck(s) - equivalent to dollar; e.g. That will cost a buck. Can you lend me 10 bucks?

one - old term for a 1 dollar bill; e.g. Do you have a one?

Loonie - $1 coin which replaced bills, named for the loon pictured on the coin.

Twonie/Toonie - $2 coin which replaced bills. Introduced after the Loonie and was doomed to have a similar nickname.

deuce - old term, not sure if it was widespread, for a 2 dollar bill

fin/fiver - $5 bill, haven't heard these lately

grand/K - 1000 dollars e.g. He lost 5 grand on BitCoin. The car is worth 120K.

coin - referring cash/cost e.g. He dropped a lot of coin at the casino.

big/big ones/large - very relative to the discussion and the wealth of the people involved! I heard them generally as referring to $100 e.g. I had to pay 3 large for the hotel room; but in wealthier circles it might refer to $1000 or even $10000.

Some the terms that Star Master noted I have heard, maybe in movies, to refer to money in general: simolians, buckaroos, smackers, smackaroonis, etc.
bazhsw
member, 58 posts
Tue 12 Jul 2022
at 20:27
  • msg #15

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

I think in the UK in conversation you as, or more likely to hear 'quid' instead of 'pound', especially in informal settings, 'my brother still owes me fifty quid' or when responding to how much something is, 'it's thirty quid in that shop'.  It would rarely if ever be used by someone talking about money in a formal way or business setting.

A good one is 'dosh', used as a term for money in the same way cash is used like, 'Have you any dosh on you?'.  'Shrapnel' is used to refer to coins in general, typically of low value.  'Notes' would be used for paper money.

"Have you got any notes on you?"
"No, I've only got shrapnel"

'Coppers' and 'silver' were used to describe coins of different denominations.  I haven't heard 'silver' used for years, but 'coppers' is still well understood as 1p and 2p coins.

As others have said, Britain decimalised in 1971, and I remember, possibly as late as the late 80's hearing older relatives say things like, 'how much is it in old money?'.  Seems weird that it took a decade for some to get used to new coinage.  I wonder if people in the Eurozone experienced similar things when they switched to the Euro in the early 90's?

You may hear 'five bob note' and 'ten bob note' to denote a fiver or a tenner (I think 'bob' used to be a shilling so the value of a 'bob' has increased in conversation!)

A 2p coin is still referred to as a tuppence but since we don't have anything for sale at 3p you don't hear threppence anymore.  I love the sound of 'thruppeny bit' to describe a 3 pence coin

Funnily enough I was thinking of an old insult you don't hear anymore.  'Daft aypeth' is a term for a foolish person, usually directed at children in an affectionate manner.  You won't get anyone under 60 using it now, possibly older.  'Aypeth' comes from 'half-penny' which hasn't been in circulation since 1984.

To describe a total of something, especially money 'pounds, shilling and pence' may still be used colloquially, likewise you will still hear about putting a 'sixpence' in a Christmas pudding (which may be any coin which could choke a small child).
1492
member, 38 posts
I like monkeys
Wed 13 Jul 2022
at 03:22
  • msg #16

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

In reply to bazhsw (msg # 15):

Great post. Thanks for sharing!
bazhsw
member, 60 posts
Wed 13 Jul 2022
at 06:26
  • msg #17

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

Another couple I thought of over breakfast, which may slightly widen the scope but are some good currency words.

'Moolah' is a term for a lot of money, which may be common elsewhere.  No idea if we got it from across the Atlantic, or it may be an Indian word from Britain's colonial history there.

'Lucre' is another term for a lot of money but would usually be referred to in the context of something greedy, dishonest or exploitative.  Probably don't hear that as much.

Paying for something in a shop using a debit or credit card or using a credit card generally (eg online) would be 'paying by plastic'.

'Put it on...plastic / never never / tick' are all terms for obtaining something via credit.

'Loaded' and 'minted' are well known terms to describe someone with lots of money (relative to company / circumstances)

'Are you carrying?' is a term for asking if someone has enough / any spare money to pay for something, typically amongst friends and in social settings like a night in a pub.
Jarodemo
member, 972 posts
My hovercraft
is full of eels
Wed 13 Jul 2022
at 06:36
  • msg #18

Re: Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

bazhsw:
A 2p coin is still referred to as a tuppence but since we don't have anything for sale at 3p you don't hear threppence anymore.  I love the sound of 'thruppeny bit' to describe a 3 pence coin


Fun fact - Thrups, or Thrupenny Bits, is Cockney rhyming slang for... well, a part of a lady. As in "Cor blimey, look at the thrups on that!"
Larson Gates
member, 22 posts
Thu 14 Jul 2022
at 12:17
  • msg #19

Slang for RL money (RP money too if you want)

You missed Sixpence for pre-decimal coinage which equated to 2 1/2 pence after decimalization.
But if you want to go back to original coinage pre the 1200s when the Kings started to dope silver coins with copper to allow more coinage in circualtion with out notioanlly devaluing the coins..
A penny as  the original siler coin weighing between 1.2g and 1.5g typically 1.3g which is the modern weight. Then you have a half-penny which was a penny cut in half, and a farthing (fourth thing) which was a quarter of a penny. The coins all had marks on them which allowed this to be done relatively easily with a sharp knife. Rememebr also that in this period it was the weight of coinage that was important, and that bar silver could be used in place of coins because of this. The same is applicable to gold coins, but their specific value related to the availablilty of gold, which was restricted in Northern Europe. Note this is also where teh original coinage systems for orginal D&D, AD&D, Reunequest, etc came from.
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