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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. - wells oliver / s0ewoliv@vcu.edu [ "you be the lighthouse in the storm and i'll be the ship filled with a thousand dead souls" ] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

quoted 3 lines May one of you English gentlemen or ladies tell me what in the > world a

> > May one of you English gentlemen or ladies tell me what in the > world a >quid is[...] >quid = 1 uk poundi've no idea where the word originates from...

so what the hell is a gonk, then? -b. ------ radio: [ http://listen.to/treblequake ] in the new millennium: handing out beatdowns to anyone who quotes vaneigem, attali, deleuze and guattari. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

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