Why is 500 quid called a monkey?

The term was coined by British soldiers returning from India where the 500 rupee note of that era had a picture of a monkey on it. They used the term monkey for 500 rupees and on returning to England the saying was converted to sterling to mean £500.
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Why do Cockneys call 500 a monkey?

Whilst this is not cemented in fact, the widely held belief is that the terms came from soldiers returning to Britain from India. Old Indian rupee banknotes had animals on them and it is said that the 500 rupee note had a monkey on it and the 25 rupee featured a pony.
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What is a monkey in Cockney?

Monkey is Cockney slang for 500 pounds.
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What is monkey slang for?

(slang) A person who is mocked, duped, or made to appear a fool. They made a monkey out of him.
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What does a pony mean in money?

Yes. To "pony up" in America is to pay some amount you owe, usually a large amount of money. Also, a "pony" could be a small amount of liquor or a small bottle of liquor. Also, a "pony" could be a cheat sheet or other material used in a test by students.
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How much is a gorilla in money?

De Merode said the selling price for infant gorillas can run from about $15,000 to $40,000.
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Why is 300 a carpet?

The term has since the early 1900s been used by bookmakers and horse-racing, where carpet refers to odds of three-to-one, and in car dealing, where it refers to an amount of £300.
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What does monkey mean in UK?

MONKEY. Origin: UK via India. Meaning: London slang for £500. Derived from the 500 Rupee banknote, which featured a monkey. EXPLANATION: While this London-centric slang is entirely British, it actually stems from 19th Century India.
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Why is monkey called a monkey?

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word "monkey" may originate in a German version of the Reynard the Fox fable, published circa 1580. In this version of the fable, a character named Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape.
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What does this emoji mean ??

The ? (monkey) emoji indicates playfulness or naughtiness.

Few emojis are as cute and mischievous as the ?; so, if you get a message with a ? emoji in it, you can safely assume that the sender is (playfully) up to no good.
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Why is a piano called a Joanna?

Keep in mind that some cockney rhyming slang can only be understood if you're familiar with the cockney accent. For instance, “Aunt Joanna” means “piano.” That's because in cockney English, “piano” is pronounced “pianna,” which rhymes with “Joanna.”
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What is a pony in Cockney?

Pony is Cockney slang for 25 pounds.
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Why is 20 pound called a score?

£20 is sometimes referred to as a "score", although strictly this is not a slang term for money, as 'score' is a normal word for twenty. A "pony" equals £25. A "bullseye" is £50. £100 is sometimes referred to as a "ton" e.g. £400 would be called 4 ton.
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Why is a pony 25 quid?

Spelt the same P-O-N-Y pony actually means 25 pounds. The word has been traced back from the late 18th century in London and has a vast range of suggestions for its etymology.
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Why is 1000 called a grand?

The name 'grand' for $ 1,000 comes from a $ 1,000 banknote with the portrait of Ulysses Grant, 18th president of the USA. The banknote was called a “Grant”, which overtime became 'grand'.
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What is a tenner in Cockney slang?

Cockney Money Slang

The first things you gotta learn are that five pounds is a fiver, and ten pounds is a tenner. Then you gotta know the key money values: £20 is a Score, £25 is a Pony, £100 is a Ton, £500 is a Monkey, and £1000 is a Grand.
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Are humans monkeys?

But humans are not descended from monkeys or any other primate living today. We do share a common ape ancestor with chimpanzees. It lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. But humans and chimpanzees evolved differently from that same ancestor.
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What is a group of monkeys called?

• Monkeys: a barrel or a troop.
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Is a gorilla a monkey?

Monkey species include baboons, macaques, marmosets, tamarins, and capuchins. Ape species include humans, gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, and bonobos. In evolutionary and genetic terms, ape species are much closer to humans than monkeys are.
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How much is a donkey in money?

Prices start at around $300 for one donkey and can go up to $2,000-3,000, and even higher. What is this? Just as with horses, a well bred, well-trained, large, rideable/drivable donkey can cost several thousand dollars.
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Why is 100 called ton?

The etymology of "ton" is described by the OED as derived from French meaning "cask." My question is essentially how a word with this origin came to have a colloquial meaning referring to one hundred of something, such as in OED definitions referring to 100 points in cricket or darts, or 100 pounds in money.
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What does pony up mean?

Definition of pony up

transitive verb. : to pay (money) especially in settlement of an account. intransitive verb. : pay.
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Why do Cockneys call a watch a kettle?

The term means watch, which stemmed from a 'fob' watch which was a pocket watch attached to the body with a small chain. The kettle used to boil on the hob of a stove… hence the rhyme.
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Why is a house called a drum?

Drum and Bass is Cockney slang for Place.

The word drum was originally used to describe a room or prison cell or even a road. It then became confined to only mean the home.
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Why is your belly called a derby?

"Derby Kell" is old Cockney rhyming slang for belly ("Derby Kelly"). "Blow out your kite" means "fill your stomach". It uses the word kite (also kyte), a dialect word, originally derived from an Old English word for the womb which, by extension, came to mean the belly.
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