What did it mean in the scene where Willie and Eddie were playing cards with those guys when one guy throws some money on the table and says "I'll bet a pound"?
Because I am British, this expression obviously seemed odd to me as they were playing cards in an NYC apartment.
Interesting, I hadn't noticed that.
It obviously means five dollars, because the next line is "your five, and five". But I'm native American and I've never heard that slang usage, so it's still odd.
I find a reference to that meaning on urbandictionary.com -- like #27 under "pound".
And I find something on Google in "The concise new Partridge dictionary of slang and unconventional English" -- it's under "quid".
And I found one place saying that in 1800 a pound was worth about five dollars. So perhaps it was an actual conversion 200 years ago and became conventional (if uncommon) slang for five dollars.
Edward
"The concise new Partridge dictionary of slang and unconventional English" -- it's under "quid".
I'm pretty sure it mean $16 since 16 oz equals 1 pound.
share^No, I am sure it does not mean that at all.
shareAccording to the link below 'a pound note' is indeed slang for $5. No idea why, perhaps it was the same value as, or looked similar to, a £5 note at the time the slang stuck...?
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-392351.html
What was the actual exchange rate for a pound vs USD in 1984?
share