...in me pocket

Posted by Lewis on November 01, 2005

In Reply to: Stick a pony... posted by RRC on October 31, 2005

: : What does "put a pony in my pocket" mean? It is used in the opening song of the TV series 'Only Fools and Horses'.

: It's "Stick a pony in me pocket, I'll get the suitcase from the van..." I believe that a pony is 25 pounds (money), so the song is saying slip me some money on the sly, and I'll go get the goods. The characters in the show specialize in shady deals, stuff that's fallen off the back of trucks, etc. RRC

Pony is 25 nicker - there are other slang amounts too
e.g.
the obvious
oncer=£1
fiver=£5
tenner=£10
score=£20
then the less obvious
pony=£25
ton=£100
monkey=£500
grand (or 'k')=£1000

can't vouch for its completeness or accuracy, but www.aldertons.com/ money.htm has some listed.

I think most people would accept that 'score' is a regular old expression for 20, not originating from rhyming slang and 'ton' has been around for a while too.
'k' from 'kilo' the agreed SI multiple of 1000 didn't seem to be commonly used in respect of money until the 1980s - when the "yuppie" phenomenon hit the papers.
"How many k do you pull down?" etc
L