Quote:
Originally Posted by dyna mo
slightly off-topic, what's the dif between a pound and a quid?
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A pound and a quid are the same. Quid is merely a slang term used for a pound. There are LOADS of "suggested" origins for the word quid and while I won't bore you with the few that I do know, here is one:
If you look at the website fromoldbooks.org and then navigate to "Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue" (Francis Groce, 1811) (a link will make this easier:
http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Grose-VulgarTongue/ ) it states the definition of quid as follows: "quid - The quantity of tobacco put into the mouth at one time. To quid tobacco; to chew tobacco. Quid est hoc? hoc est quid; a guinea. Half a quid; half a guinea.
So that is one "suggested" origin ... and since I have an extra spare minute I'll briefly touch on another "suggested" origin. There use to be (now closed) a paper mill called Quidhampton paper mill. It apparently made the special paper used for bank notes.