Abraham Newland
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Abraham Newland (1730–1807), chief cashier at the Bank of England, whose signature appeared on every banknote issued by the Bank from 1782 to 1807.
Noun
[edit]Abraham Newland (plural Abraham Newlands)
- (archaic, British slang) A British banknote. [18th c.]
- 1800, Whims of the Day, 2nd verse:
- For fashion or arts, should you seek foreign parts, / It matters not wherever you land, / Jew, Christian, or Greek, the same language they speak, / That's the language of Abraham Newland: / Oh, Abraham Newland! / Wonderful Abraham Newland! / Tho' with compliments cramm'd, you may die and be d—d, / If you hav'n't an Abraham Newland.
References
[edit]- John S[tephen] Farmer, compiler (1890) “Abraham Newland”, in Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present. […], volume I, [London: […] Thomas Poulter and Sons] […], →OCLC, page 10.