Pounds, pence and quid
Apr. 15th, 2013 03:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jadesfireI've been meaning to write this for a while now, but my brain kept getting in the way and making it longer. However, there's a Brit Picking post at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
paperpushers at the moment, so I thought this was a good chance to start again. I'm going to be making a few of these, and they'll all be under the Britpick tag.
The best British English guide I know of is here, and I heartily recommend it as a first stop for pretty much everything.
Let me make a general disclaimer here: I grew up in East London and have lived in Oxford (SE England) for all my adult life. Regional slang varies enormously in the UK. Really, really massively, sometimes from street to street. So this is my perspective as a Southerner. Other regions will vary.
I'm also using 'quid' to illustrate a wider point about the way Brits use slang. This isn't unique to us, of course, but it's the only point of view I'm qualified to talk from!
One mistake I've seen in quite a few Merlin fics now is using 'quid' in the wrong context. Trying to pin down exactly how its used is surprisingly tricky, but here are some good rules of thumb:
Very, very, very roughly speaking, if you would't say 'buck' don't use 'quid'. That's NOT universal, but if you're in a hurry, it more or less works.
~ In general, if in doubt, use pound. Even people who use quid will use pound as well in a lot of contexts.
~ If you are talking about the physical objects of money, ie the actual coins and notes, then they are pounds. It's a one pound coin, a five pound note (always note, never bill). We say fiver and tenner for five and ten pound notes, then twenties and fifties. Those are all the notes we have. Below five, we have one and two pound coins.
~ Quid is always a whole number or an approximation. Something costs four pounds ninety-nine or about five quid. Never five quid ninety nine.
~ I've never actually seen this, but just in case, quid is the plural as well as the singular - one quid, two quid, five quid etc. Not five quids.
~ Quid is mostly likely to be used in a context where the characters are young or working class.
That last one is the one that needs some expansion, especially in a Merlin context. My linguist friends will almost certainly start headdesking at this point, but hopefully this is close enough to the truth to be useful without being confusing. Unfortunately, this is where it gets kind of long,
In a lot of modern AUs, Arthur comes from a high class/rich family while Merlin doesn't. In this context, Merlin is much more likely to say quid. However, it's not just a class marker. In a UK context, it's pretty common for people of a higher social class to use slang to indicate that they're not snobs, particularly for young people. So it doesn't sound weird for Arthur, talking to his friends or Merlin, to say quid. It would sound weird for him to say it to his father, and it would sound even stranger for Uther to say it.
Unless they are making a point. It's here that we get into Code-switching, which is not something I'm qualified to talk about in detail, but I can give you an example. I live in affluent, middle-class Oxford. And so for the most part, my language and accent reflect that. But when I go home to East London, my accent changes and the language I use changes as well. In general, I'm unlikely to use the word 'quid' at work or when talking to my mother, but I am likely to use it when asking the garage how much to repair my car, or a builder how much to repair something at home. I use it to say that despite my rather crisp RP accent (roughly BBC English), my roots are working class, the same as them.
(Just for the record, it's not as calculated as it sounds, more instinctive, and it's only when I look back at it that I see what I've done.)
We use language this way to show that we belong or that we understand the person we're talking to, and that we want them to understand us properly as well. My husband comes from a very middle-class background, where 'quid' would not be a word in common use. But he might use it when talking to the electrician who checked out our wiring.
I hope that makes some kind of sense. Code-switching is pretty commonplace, and I'm sure most people do it at one time or another. And in many ways, quid/pound is a really good example of it. Using it properly in the right context says something about the speaker. It's really hard to come up with examples, because this kind of slang is instinctive rather than standard. The ones below are made up by me from a fic that does not exist, but hopefully they illustrate the point!
~
The only good thing about this grotty pub was that it was dark enough for Merlin to hide his face when Arthur asked, "How much do you need? A hundred quid? A thousand?"
Merlin groaned, thumping his forehead down onto the table, trying not to think about the stickiness against his skin. "We are not talking about this."
Context is a grotty pub, Arthur's talking to Merlin about a problem that's obviously Merlin's = quid.
~
"I said no, Arthur." Uther looked up, glaring over the rims of his glasses.
"But it's only five hundred pounds, father."
"No. Five pounds or five hundred. The answer is still no."
Arthur talking to his father = pounds.
~
"I don't care!" Merlin was shouting now, and he didn't care if the neighbours heard. "I don't need your money, Arthur!"
"Stop making such a fuss. It's nothing."
"It's five hundred pounds!"
For some reason, there's something emphatic about saying pound rather than quid. Quid has a slightly casual air about it, while pound sounds more serious. I think it's a bit like including someone's middle name when you're telling them off...
~
Uther sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Did you think it would be that simple?" Gaius asked, not unkindly, making Uther sigh again.
"Well, I didn't think I was going to bung him fifty quid and hear the end of it," Uther said sharply.
Uther can use it here because he's obviously going for the shock value - it's obviously the wrong sort of language for him, so by using it, he's making a point.
Okay, that's quite enough on that. Next up: Universities. And I'm also taking requests :)
paperpushers at the moment, so I thought this was a good chance to start again. I'm going to be making a few of these, and they'll all be under the Britpick tag.The best British English guide I know of is here, and I heartily recommend it as a first stop for pretty much everything.
Let me make a general disclaimer here: I grew up in East London and have lived in Oxford (SE England) for all my adult life. Regional slang varies enormously in the UK. Really, really massively, sometimes from street to street. So this is my perspective as a Southerner. Other regions will vary.
I'm also using 'quid' to illustrate a wider point about the way Brits use slang. This isn't unique to us, of course, but it's the only point of view I'm qualified to talk from!
One mistake I've seen in quite a few Merlin fics now is using 'quid' in the wrong context. Trying to pin down exactly how its used is surprisingly tricky, but here are some good rules of thumb:
Very, very, very roughly speaking, if you would't say 'buck' don't use 'quid'. That's NOT universal, but if you're in a hurry, it more or less works.
~ In general, if in doubt, use pound. Even people who use quid will use pound as well in a lot of contexts.
~ If you are talking about the physical objects of money, ie the actual coins and notes, then they are pounds. It's a one pound coin, a five pound note (always note, never bill). We say fiver and tenner for five and ten pound notes, then twenties and fifties. Those are all the notes we have. Below five, we have one and two pound coins.
~ Quid is always a whole number or an approximation. Something costs four pounds ninety-nine or about five quid. Never five quid ninety nine.
~ I've never actually seen this, but just in case, quid is the plural as well as the singular - one quid, two quid, five quid etc. Not five quids.
~ Quid is mostly likely to be used in a context where the characters are young or working class.
That last one is the one that needs some expansion, especially in a Merlin context. My linguist friends will almost certainly start headdesking at this point, but hopefully this is close enough to the truth to be useful without being confusing. Unfortunately, this is where it gets kind of long,
In a lot of modern AUs, Arthur comes from a high class/rich family while Merlin doesn't. In this context, Merlin is much more likely to say quid. However, it's not just a class marker. In a UK context, it's pretty common for people of a higher social class to use slang to indicate that they're not snobs, particularly for young people. So it doesn't sound weird for Arthur, talking to his friends or Merlin, to say quid. It would sound weird for him to say it to his father, and it would sound even stranger for Uther to say it.
Unless they are making a point. It's here that we get into Code-switching, which is not something I'm qualified to talk about in detail, but I can give you an example. I live in affluent, middle-class Oxford. And so for the most part, my language and accent reflect that. But when I go home to East London, my accent changes and the language I use changes as well. In general, I'm unlikely to use the word 'quid' at work or when talking to my mother, but I am likely to use it when asking the garage how much to repair my car, or a builder how much to repair something at home. I use it to say that despite my rather crisp RP accent (roughly BBC English), my roots are working class, the same as them.
(Just for the record, it's not as calculated as it sounds, more instinctive, and it's only when I look back at it that I see what I've done.)
We use language this way to show that we belong or that we understand the person we're talking to, and that we want them to understand us properly as well. My husband comes from a very middle-class background, where 'quid' would not be a word in common use. But he might use it when talking to the electrician who checked out our wiring.
I hope that makes some kind of sense. Code-switching is pretty commonplace, and I'm sure most people do it at one time or another. And in many ways, quid/pound is a really good example of it. Using it properly in the right context says something about the speaker. It's really hard to come up with examples, because this kind of slang is instinctive rather than standard. The ones below are made up by me from a fic that does not exist, but hopefully they illustrate the point!
The only good thing about this grotty pub was that it was dark enough for Merlin to hide his face when Arthur asked, "How much do you need? A hundred quid? A thousand?"
Merlin groaned, thumping his forehead down onto the table, trying not to think about the stickiness against his skin. "We are not talking about this."
Context is a grotty pub, Arthur's talking to Merlin about a problem that's obviously Merlin's = quid.
"I said no, Arthur." Uther looked up, glaring over the rims of his glasses.
"But it's only five hundred pounds, father."
"No. Five pounds or five hundred. The answer is still no."
Arthur talking to his father = pounds.
"I don't care!" Merlin was shouting now, and he didn't care if the neighbours heard. "I don't need your money, Arthur!"
"Stop making such a fuss. It's nothing."
"It's five hundred pounds!"
For some reason, there's something emphatic about saying pound rather than quid. Quid has a slightly casual air about it, while pound sounds more serious. I think it's a bit like including someone's middle name when you're telling them off...
Uther sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Did you think it would be that simple?" Gaius asked, not unkindly, making Uther sigh again.
"Well, I didn't think I was going to bung him fifty quid and hear the end of it," Uther said sharply.
Uther can use it here because he's obviously going for the shock value - it's obviously the wrong sort of language for him, so by using it, he's making a point.
Okay, that's quite enough on that. Next up: Universities. And I'm also taking requests :)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-04-16 10:20 pm (UTC)Thanks for this. You're right, it does seem like quid/pound = buck/dollar (other than the fact we'd say something costs a buck ninety nine, but written out it looks dreadful), that's so helpful to understand it.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-04-23 02:59 pm (UTC)Bung means to give, but in a sort of casual way. If you 'bung' something in a bag, you drop it in without much care. And if you bung someone the money, it's a sort of 'fifty quid under the table' kind of thing, rather than a formal transaction.
Does that make sense?