Re: (idm) Not completely off topic: A really ignorant American sort of question.
Msg-Id:
<200001201554.JAA26261@cliffy.lmtas.lmco.com>
Mbox:
idm.0001.gz
quoted 8 lines May one of you English gentlemen or ladies tell me what in the world a quid>> May one of you English gentlemen or ladies tell me what in the world a quid
>> is. Is it another word for a pound, some lesser currency, or what? I have
>> been perplexed by this for quite a while, and now I would just like an
>> explanation.
>
>quid = 1 uk pound
>
>i've no idea where the word originates from...
I think it comes from "Squid", where during the time of Queen Elizabeth
and the invasion of the Spanish Armada, all the coinage was stripped from
commoners to fund the defense of England, and entirely new system of
currency had to be established using the next convenient thing: Sea
Creatures
Using the typical logic of older British conversion/exchange tables, 7
crabs would get you a squid, 3 squids equalled one crab, 4 and 1/2 crabs
bought a whale-haunch. For years people had to lug around smelly, marine
animals to normal daily business. Even after the defeat of the Spanish
and the economy got back on track, the system had to be slowly phased out
rather thean just stopped abruptly in order to prevent mass rioting when
it was noticed that stockpiles of the funky fishy flesh was still being
used in rural areas.
The term for the more common lower value token is still used today,
though eventually over the centuries the "S" was dropped from "Squid"
through the natural processes of dialectic evolution.
At least thats how it was explained to me... by a substitute teacher...
in a P.E. class...
e
Ernesto Ikerd, (817) 763-4795
Company Graphics, Dept 17, MZ-1156
Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems
Fort Worth, Texas
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org