In 1737, Benjamin Franklin published The Drinker’s Dictionary, a long list of over 200 alternative terms and phrases for being drunk.
As far as I know, old Ben never published a similar list of synonyms for money – which I find to be curious considering that Ben is one of America’s first and most-quoted personal finance experts.
With that in mind, I thought I would challenge myself to put together a fun collection of 101 slang terms for money.
I’ll start with references to edibles and then branch out from there. So if you’re ready, here we go…
1. chips
2. bread
3. dough
4. roll
5. cabbage
6. lettuce
7. kale
8. bacon
9. clams
10. coconuts
11. beans
12. fish
13. potatoes
14. bananas
15. buckaroos
16. bucks
17. fins ($5-bills)
18. sawbucks ($10-bills)
19. C-notes ($100-bills)
20. hundies
21. Benjamins
22. Jacksons
23. grand
24. Gs
25. K
26. smack
27. smackers
28. wampum
29. bills
30. moolah
31. means
32. checks
33. drafts
34. shrapnel
35. wad
36. plaster
37. bankroll
38. capital
39. finances
40. currency
41. funds
42. gold
43. stash
44. cash
45. bundle
46. fortune
47. lucre
48. chump change
49. pin money
50. shekels
51. resources
52. boffo
53. spending money
54. doubloons
55. wherewithal
56. treasure
57. dibs
58. bits
59. dollars
60. dinero
61. pesos
62. bullets
63. coin
64. simoleons
65. silver
66. pelf
67. tender
68. scrip
69. pittance
70. guineas
71. gelt
72. bones
73. stake
74. pap
75. spondulicks
76. quid
77. pocket money
78. specie
79. jack
80. change
81. scratch
82. mite
83. king’s ransom
84. mint
85. paper
86. loonies
87. mazuma
88. pieces of eight
89. frogskins
90. long green
91. folding green
92. green
93. greenbacks
94. riches
95. rivets
96. big ones
97. banknotes
98. dead presidents
99. chits
100. scrilla
101. loot
Whew! That was fun! And if you want to add to the list, this is a friendly challenge to please do so.
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Yayo is cocaine…not money
Ah, now you’ve done it – I have to come up with another term. But word to your momma. I just checked with my homey from the hood and he confirmed your claim. He told me the correct term is “scrilla.” Thanks for the heads up! (Note to self: in the future stick to suburban, as opposed to urban, slang.)
Ok im thankful for this list…. tho here are some you forgot
Cheese, Chedder, Gwop, Stack, Grip, and Cents
I can’t believe I missed “stack.” I’ve used it before. Thanks for the additions!
Simoleans! Yes!
Haha, thanks for all those!!!! My neice and I are making a remake to Justin Bieber’s ‘One Time’ song…It’s about money.
When you finish, feel free to come back and share your lyrics here!
in my younger days i had a boyfriend who would say “duckettes” for dollars. does anyone remember that slang word?
I never heard of it, but maybe somebody else out there has?
I think it’s spelled “duckits.”
I remember ducats.
In the penitentiary, ducat was the slang word for money.
“Homie, I got ducats for squares. Let’s hit the commissary.”
(a square is a jailhouse word for cigarette’s)
Duckettes sounds like an accented pronunciation of ‘ducats’
One more for the list: wonga
Great point, Macs, about ducats. Never heard of “wonga.” Thanks for the addition!
relish
Don’t forget the change. what we have left after the Feds tax everything.
I really did not know that there were so many terms/words for money. Thanks for the information. Now I just need the meanings of what the words mean.
Very good knowledge.
Yes, I heard “duckets” as a kid. Everyone said it. I’m from L.A. and AA, maybe it’s a cultural thang.
Some money slang from my Colombian friend, “plato” and “limonada”.
Enjoyed this, thank you!
First things first: are you *really* Ms. November? Wait until I tell my buddies at work that Ms. November read my blog!!!
Thanks for the additions to my list too.
I always referred to duckets when talking about money. I was born In Cali also! Could definitely be a cultural thing.
Lumber
feti
pop cans
Hi Len, When I read the title, and before reading the article I thought: Oh, if someone wants to pay me in some currency other than money-what about candy? I love candy and would gladly accept a small amount of candy, or costume jewelry instead of a cash payment
Really, Barb? Well, I guess if the Fed keeps printing money as fast as it is currently doing, hyperinflation may eventually make candy more valuable than dollars. (Not that anybody with significant cash savings would want to see that happen!)
Lets not forget Euros,marks,USD, Pesos, Guilders, Drachmae, Rupees, Dinars, Yen, shillings, Won, Ringgits, Rubles and Baht, Just to name a few of the more colorful. and just plain ole walking around money
Obvious, but very very true, Durand. Thanks for including those!
But Euros,marks,USD,Rupee are not money slang
I didnt see “cake” or “gravy”
My current favorite is “Sacagaweas”. I just like the way she sounds.
You know, I like that one a lot too.
Dosh. …
.. and btw, “ducats” is from William Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” if I remember my schooling aright. Right there with “pound of flesh.”
It’s used in Merchant of Venice because the ducat was an actual unit of currency in Italy (and most parts of Europe). It shows up in other Shakespeare plays too (like Hamlet, where the prince shouts “Dead for a ducat, dead!” right before stabbing Polonius through the curtains).
How about “do re mi” and “boodle”?
I just read this because I work in a cash business in New Jersey and we always joke about different slang terms for cash. Italians in Jersey say “escarole,” pronounced shcarol, with a hard “r”.
Interesting. My family is Italian, so I’ll have to ask my dad about that one when I see him later this week.
I always say “paper gold”, but I don’t think that’s an official replacement. Add it if you’d like, but it’s probably not going to be understood by a lot of people. Do whatever you’d like!
“Cream” is another one. Wu-Tang Clan made a song about it and alot of East Coast Rappers use it a lot. And yes, i rem the duckettes sucka fools lol
Cream is an acronym for Cash Rules Everything Around Me
frogskins
No fair copying me, moos! LOL I have that one at #89.
Forgot about Keesh and Honey!!
That I did!
Here’s one from Northern Ireland – ha’pence.
What about Mangos, Tips, and Packers *You know the name in the Greenbay Packers right?*
You forgot chedder, cake, ends, funds. Duckettes is used on the east coast as well. Now I have a question for you guys. This dude I work with swears that dough is spelled doe. Dough comes from bread and scratch I thought. There for the spelling has to be dough. Doe is on urbandictionary.com but so is dough with the same definition.
@Helen: I like it!
@KiLIERr: Mangos, nice. I like the other two too. Who are the Green Bay Packers?
Johnny: Yep, you aren’t the first commenter to recommend cheddar. That was pretty obvious and I should have caught that one! Thank you for the other three. I’m with you, it’s spelled “dough” because of the reference to “bread.” I think urbandictionary.com missed the mark on that one.
Doe is a female deer. Dough is what makes bread, so I think Dough is right. Thanks, this was WAY better than what the thesaurus offered me!
Did you have Reddies, or have I missed it?
I thought it was “readies”–as in “ready money” (meaning cash, not credit).
scrilla
That’s already listed (see #100)
How about bounty and booty
I guess a bounty of booty would be bootilicious
Or is that bountylicious
Or maybe could go with Bootiful (an attractive ghost?)
-John
Freaking awesome! Don’t forget booty!
@John and @Australia: Booty was so obvious. I can’t believe I missed that one.
you forgot “paper”
“At his new job, Joe’s makin PAPER!”
Skrizz, Fettija,
Skrizz? Hmmm… I thought that meant really good, or very high quality?
Fettija is another strange one, Kash. I just googled the term and it came up empty.
How about presidential portraits?
Noted!
how about the philly term MUGGA
Coo. It was used in NYC when I was kid.
Duckies Coin Geetas
what about WAM (Walking Around Money)
Term used by brother-in-law that I always admired – Fun Tickets
THAT is one of the best slang terms for money I’ve ever heard. I think I’ll start using that one too, Mike. Thanks for sharing it.
We used to call them “yuppie coupons” because at the time ATMs only spit out $20 bills and it seemed to be a yuppie “thing” to use the ATM as a status symbol. Thanks for the effort to put together such a fun list. I wrote down most of them so I won’t forget! Don
Yep I agree with Duckettes too! Like Kid Rock said…”givin’ all my duckettes to Uncle Sam..” Great job on this! DEFinately terms I’ve not heard before!
Thanks, Amy. We try to please here at Len Penzo dot Com!
I’m from Md and we say “ends”. Guess it comes from making ends meet…
I suspect you’re right, Angela.
HOW bout SLUGS,CHIPPAS,BIG FACE’S
Sponduli
How about an Anthony
Hmmm. I’ve never heard of that one. What is it in reference to?
Additional names for money:
float
dancy
scratch
An old friend of mine used to call it, mazuma.
I could be wrong because I often am, but I think the proper spelling would be ducats, which is also slang for tickets.
I’m writing a piece for DD 214 Chronicle, the veterans newspaper in northeast Ohio, and money is the subject. Money is much more than legal tender. Matter of fact, I sometimes think its status as legal tender is the least of its uses. Money is a status symbol, a weapon, a gift, a building block or foundation, and maybe the one thing we think about more than sex. It can make us feel secure or send us into anxiety attacks.
Thanks for the list and thanks to the many contributors who 1.) made further reading a pleasure, and 2.) made my job easier.
John H. Tidyman
You’re very welcome, John. Good luck on the article.
im dominican raised in NY but i kno mexicans call money La Feria
if you know so many money words could you help me decode this my bro told me i would never figure it out so far i havent the letters are scrambeled up please help
these are the letters:
skppaatcre
i have no idea what it says plz plz plz help me out
I think your bro is pulling your leg. In the meantime, why don’t you challenge him to solve this one: sgjfkxjzhkjkjsequ
It looks like ‘paper stack’. That’s all I could do with the letters. Don’t know if that’s a money term or not.
In the south we say shams
Did anyone say “Lira” or “Lire”? Also “ten spot” for a ten dollar bill, and “do-re-mi” (slang for “dough”)?
Also “singles”, “fiver”, “mad money”
I haven’t seen the term” Large”. I’ve heard that used the same way as grand, or K
Yes, that’s a very good one. I actually hear that quite a bit.
what about credit/cred
Great list,I did not see the word “Mulla”
or “moola” … yes!
licks , chickens , paper cuts , benjies
dookies , fevers , x five
That last one seems a bit odd.
in reply to Ms. November: your Colombian friend said “plata.” plato is plate: may I have a plato of frijoles, por favor. Plata is very common in Mexico, Central and South America.
how could you miss cake lol.
and bones, shillings, milk, big ones.
ok scratch bones and big ones you got that. but shillings, mike and cake
and in europe they call it pounds.
last one lol cant forget chedda.
To rockergirl315 – It looks like ‘paper stack’. That’s all I could do with the letters. Don’t know if that’s a money term or not.
In an old Disneyworld/land reference, we used to call Hundreds “E-tickets” or “Bennies” (clearly short for “Benjamins.”) We would also refer to any note by its President; Lincolns, Hamiltons or Hamiltonians, Grants or Ulysses. “Scratch” continues to be my favorite, though. Fun read; thanks.
what about “GWOP”?
“Fun Tickets” for $100 dollar bills.
Also Another name is Yardskins Read that in the Kid’s Money Book
In Ireland slang for euros is yoyo’s.
Hey son: I do not remember if I mentioned to you. When I was growing up the slang for money was chrome. You may want to add it to your list.
Love yaa, Dad
You just did it for me, Dad. Love you too!
Dead Presidents
I don’t know if it’s been listen yet, but “moolah” was super common while grewing up in Jersey and Queens. I still use it sometimes.
You forgot cheese.
marks
also grapes used to say gotta pick these grapes off a vine
it means make money in my hood
babit
Where I’m from Babbitt is a term meaning annoying or something. I would say “go sit down u lil Babbitt “to a kid or man u acting like a Babbitt to an adult
me and my friend say Cotton because apparantly thats what money is made out of
I’m from the Bahamas and we used to say gwalla gwalla or gunky when some one had alot of money “hey man yourpockets is gunky”. Ever heard it?
I didn’t see … Double sawbuck ($20) or check or checker ($1)
Half C ($50) 5 spot, Lincoln, fiver ($5)
What about, in reference to money, using “cha-ching?”
Maybe…?
Absolutely!
Also, really happy you put king’s ransom.
This list, and the resulting comments, really came in handy when my room mate and I were trying to decide how many ways we could write “MONEY” on our Pringles can covered in black duct tape and made into a coin container.
Squirrel. I was mugged in St. Louis years ago and the young gentlemen wanting my stash were asking for me to release my squirrel. They then in their excitement asked me to relinquish my money. Had they simply just stated to give me your loot (or any of these other alternatives) I would have done so! Killa
[...] Americans – dough, greenbacks, moolah, bread, sawbucks, ten-spots, etc. – in fact this link will take you to a list of 101 slang American words for money! But I digress … So here is [...]