quarter

Ok, in my research I have not found any idioms dealing with a quarter coin(25 cents, common in the US and Canada) and I can't remember any either.

All I can remember are some common phrases such as:

Can you lend me a quarter?

This was a common question before cellphones when I was growing up as a payphone used to cost a quarter for a local call.

There is a game called quarters which is a drinking game where you bounce the quarter from the table into your opponents cup. If you get it in his/her cup they have to drink!

The idioms that use quarter DO NOT refer to the coin!

For example:

quarters: this is talking about living quarters, or the place where you live. It is mostly used in the military so you often hear it in dramas, like on a spaceship, your room might be called your quarters.

No quarter: here quarter means mercy and so no quarter=no mercy so attack with all your strength and destroy your enemy.

Hmm, that is all I can think of and it finishes our series on coin idioms! yay!!!

Time to get ready for work,

Phil

Money!!!

Ok here's another quick lesson. In English, we have many casual words to talk about money. You can hear them in movies and on the street. Here are some of the most common ones:

10 bucks: This is used in Canada and the US, 1 buck=1dollar. A long time ago, people didn't use paper money or coins in North America so much. Most people were hunters and 1 buck skin(a male deer's skin) was the standard used when giving prices at general stores.

Mostly in the US, but also in Canada, we have these expressions:

a quarter=25 cents

a dime=10 cents

a nickel=5 cents

a penny=1 cent

There are also a few words for big money, the ones I have heard the most are a grand which means one thousand dollars(1000$). This was later shortened into 10Gs, meaning 10 grand or 10000$.

In Canada, you have:

a loonie=a 1 dollar coin(from the picture of the loon on it)

a toonie=a 2 dollar coin

I don't know much about the UK but this I know:

1 pound=1 quid

I heard a quid used to be a certain amount of tobacco but am not sure if that is where this expression came from.

1 pence=1 P

Which is pretty simple pence starts with P!

Ok that is it for now, more next week...

Phil