Culture and People.- Money slang.

Read the text and listen to the recording.


Hucha con forma de cerdito.

Dosh, dough, wedge... there are more slang words for money than for anything else. In the UK there are villages named Penny Bridge (Cumbria), Shillingford (Devon and Oxfordshire), and Pound Bank (Worcestershire). The most common slang term in Britain these days for a pound is quid. A pound may also be referred to as a nicker.

In the United States, there are many commonly used slang terms for money. Perhaps the most common is the term buck as a reference for the dollar. Cold hard cash is another of the slang terms for money, which simply means cash in hand but doesn’t distinguish an amount. Other terms that we can use to talk about dollars, without indicating specific amounts are clams, smackers, and greenbacks (because of the colour of paper dollars).

The phrase dead presidents refers to different denominations of bills since pictures of past presidents appear on the face of many of them. Not all bills feature a US president, however. The $100 USD bill, for example, features Benjamin Franklin. This particular bill has developed its own slang term which specifically describes hundred dollar bills: Benjamins.

Other slang terms for money include C-note or simply C, which also indicates a $100 USD bill. Another letter used in reference to a specific monetary denomination is K. If someone says, "I paid 5K," it means he or she paid $5,000 USD. Grand is another common slang term for money, and means $1,000 USD.

A $5 USD bill is sometimes called a fiver or a fin. A $10 USD bill can be referred to as a sawbuck. Fives and tens are at times also called nickels and dimes, which leads to other slang terms for money, such as "Don’t nickel and dime me." This phrase indicates that a person wants to be paid in full rather than a little at a time.

There are even slang terms for money that are used to describe US coins. Two bits equals 25 cents or one quarter. A quarter is a coin that represents one fourth of a dollar.

Text adapted from http://www.fun-with-words.com/money_words.html and http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-slang-terms-for-money-in-the-united-states.htm .

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Take the following quiz to test what you have learned.

Money quiz

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If you want to learn more about money slang, check out the following website.

Money vocabulary

1.- Hen and stag parties.

iDevice icon Think about it
Tres chicas celebran una despedida de soltera.

On average, how much money does a guest spend to go to a friend's wedding in the UK?

  1. £120
  2. £240
  3. £380

Do you know what a stag or hen party is? A stag or hen party, also know as a bachelor or bachelorette party, is a party held for a man or a woman shortly before he or she enters marriage. A stag (for a man) or hen (for a woman) party is usually planned by the best friend of the bride (the woman who's getting married) or the groom (the man who's getting married), occasionally, with the assistance of a bachelor party planning company.

Usually weddings are expensive for the bride and the groom, but they can be expensive for guests too, for example, for the hen party or the stag party.

Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2010/07/100722_6min_wedding_page.shtml and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_party

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If you want to find out more about hen and stag parties, listen to the following radio programme and then read the script.

Hen and stag parties: Programme.

iDevice icon Think about it

Discuss in the forum:

  • Have you ever been invited to a hen or a stag party?
  • What did you do?
  • Did you have a good time?
  • On average, how much money do you think people spend to go to a friend's wedding in your country?

2.- If I was a rich girl.

iDevice icon Quotation
“No man could test me, impress me, my cash flow would never ever end.
Cause I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl” Gwen Stefany.

There are many songs about money. How many can you remember?

Una chica con muchos billetes.
iDevice icon Now it's your turn
Read the lyrics and try to match them with their titles and singers.
Matching exercise.
Lyics Match Artist / Song

I've got the brains, you've got the looks

make lots of money.
1. Madonna / Material Girl.

I don't care too much for money

Money can't buy me love.
2. Pet Shop Boys / Opportunities.

‘Cause the boy with the cold hard cash

Is always Mister Right
3. Shania Twain / Ka-ching.

When you are broke go and get a loan
Take another mortgage on your home
consolidate so you can afford

to go and spend some more when you get bored.
4. Simply Red / Money’s too tight to mention.

Your lovin’ gives me such a thrill
But your lovin’ can't pay my bills

I need money.
5. The Beatles / Can't Buy me Love.

I’ve been laid off from work my rent is due

My kids all need brand new shoes.
6. The Beatles / Money (That’s What I want).
  
iDevice icon Now it's your turn
Now, match the words in bold from the previous exercise with the definitions:
Matching exercise.
Definitions Match Expressions
Written list showing how much you owe for goods or services. 01. Afford.
Money in the form of bank notes or coins. 02. Bill.
Earn or get a lot of money. 03. Broke.
Money that a person or a bank lends you. 04. Cash.
Have no money. 05. Due.
To have enough money to buy something. 06. Laid off.
The money a bank lends you to buy a house. 07. Loan.
Use money to pay to pay for things. 08. Make lots of money.
Something is owed to someone. 09. Mortgage.
Your employers have told you to leave your job. 10. Spend.
  
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Now watch the video of the song "If I was a rich girl" and read the lyrics. Let's see if you can identify some examples of third conditional sentences. Good luck!

If I was a rich girl: Lyrics.

Appendix.- License of resources.

Licenses of Resources used in Culture and People.
Resource (1) Resource information (1) Resource (2) Resource information (2)
Hucha con forma de cerdito.

By: Images Money.

License: CC by.

From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59937401@N07/5857241897/

Tres chicas celebran una despedida de soltera.

By: jonanamary.

License: CC by-nc.

From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonanamary/5756393758/

Una chica con muchos billetes.

By: Courtney Carmody.

License: CC by-sa.

From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/calamity_photography/4645730858/