and I claim my five pounds

English

Etymology

After newspaper competitions, such as Lobby Lud, where readers were offered money for spotting a certain figure in public and accosting him with a passphrase, such as "you are Lobby Lud, and I claim my five pounds". (However, the Lobby Lud competition did not involve this phrase.)

Phrase

and I claim my five pounds

1. (UK, humourous) Used to intensify a statement of someone's identity, particularly to make a humourous comparision between two unrelated people or entities.
   • 2008 June 15, Al Ewing, I, Zombie, Abaddon Books, →ISBN:

     "You are John Rigor Mortis Doe and I claim my five pounds!"

   • 2015 February 12, Gareth Roberts, Doctor Who: The English Way of Death: The History Collection, Random House, →ISBN, page 186:

     'You are the one... known as the Doctor...' said the vagrant, tottering towards him.
     'And I claim my five pounds,' Felicia heard Percy say bitterly.

   • 2015 August 11, Elizabeth Cooke, You Belong to Me: A Novel, Open Road Media, →ISBN:

     'You are Mr Joscelyne,' they heard her joke, waggling her ring finger under his nose, 'and I claim my five pounds.'

Synonyms

• AICMFP