Was at the check out today and the woman in front of me paid with a hundred and was expecting about sixty dollars in change and she asked the cashier if she had a "case fifty" and when the cashier asked what that was, the woman explained that it meant a fifty-dollar bill, as in fifty dollars all in one bill as opposed to fifty dollars in smaller notes. Is that a real expression? I've never heard that before.
I never heard it either. It's amazing what slang terms people will acquire in their travels. When playing pool, the "case 8" or "case 9" is the game-winning shot. Chris
I've heard it before when I was living in South Carolina back in the 90s. People used to ask for a "case quarter" for vending machines or payphones when they had pennies.
I googled "case quarter" and found that it is a slang term for a quarter (rather than 2 dimes and a nickel) mostly used in urban areas.
Never heard it. And a "case quarter" is slang for a quarter? Usually slang words shorten the word or phrase, not lengthen it. Weird.
This is a pretty interesting subject that I have not come across before. That's one reason I like coin collecting! Check out all of these definitions: http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3968
I was in retail sales for a couple of decades and never heard the term "case fifty" or "case quarter." Anyone ever hear of "case" being used with other denominations of currency or coins? Steve
According to the Word Detective it's specific to South Carolina: http://www.word-detective.com/back-j.html#case
Where I live, the term used for an Ike is Boe or Bow ( never asked how to spell it) Dollar. I'm not stereotyping here, but those terms are used only by the colored population in the south. They have many different names for things that origins stretch back to the days of slavery. They have been passed down and changed a little but are close to the same.
It seems that it means a certain amount of money as one unit. Fifty dollars in one bill, twenty-five cents as one coin, as opposed to a bunch of smaller units making up the same total. I guess like an imaginary case holding them all in one container. Thanks for the Word Detective link, gonna bookmark it
If we read the above references, it turns out that it is British usage in origin, probably earlier too, meaning you can't pay me in PENNIES!