Re: Don't you just hate it...

Posted by TheFallen on March 23, 2002

In Reply to: Re: Spondulicks posted by ESC on March 23, 2002

: : : DOSH - "n British. Money. This is a working-class term from the early 1950s which was falling out of use in the 1960s, but which, like many similar words (bunce, loot, lolly, etc.) was revived in the money-conscious late 1980s. It is a favourite with alternative comedians and 'professional cockneys.' The original would seem logically to be the old African colonial term 'dash,' denoting a tip or bribe, but other authorities claim that it is influenced by 'doss,' in the sense of the price of a bed (for the night)." From "Dictionary of Contemporary Slang" by Tony Thorne (Pantheon Books, New York, 1990).

: : Smarty-pants... now let's see you track down "spondoolicks". I'm betting on a Romany influence, but that's pure intuition.

: SPONDULICKS, SPONDOOLICKS - "n money, wealth. A lighthearted term which was obsolescent by the 1960s (having originated in the USA in the 1850s), but which like other synonyms for money was revived in the 1980s (compare 'rhino,' 'pelf,' etc.). It originated as a learned witticism, borrowing the Greek term, 'spondylikos; pertaining to the 'spondylos,' a seashell used as currency." From the "Dictionary of Contemporary Slang" by Tony Thorne (Pantheon Books, New York, 1990).

... when that happens?