take the shilling

English

WOTD – 27 February 2024

Etymology

A reference to the practice during the 18th and 19th century of a recruiting officer getting a person to enlist in the British Army or Royal Navy by accepting (or being tricked into accepting) a shilling, which was then a soldier’s daily pay.^[1] The practice was officially ended in 1879.^[2]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /teɪk ðə ˈʃɪlɪŋ/
Audio (General American): (file)
Rhymes: -ɪlɪŋ
Hyphenation: take the shil‧ling

Verb

take the shilling (third-person singular simple present takes the shilling, present participle taking the shilling, simple past took the shilling, past participle taken the shilling) (intransitive)

(British, military, historical) To enlist as a soldier in the British army or navy by accepting a shilling from a recruiting officer.
- 1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Mohun Appears for the Last Time in This History”, in The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. […] , volume III, London: […] Smith, Elder, & Company, […], →OCLC, page 135:
  [O]ne fellow was jilted by his miſtreſs and took the ſhilling in deſpair; […]
- 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Strife in Love”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part II, page 182:
  I have taken the King's shilling, but perhaps if you came for me they would let me go back with you. I was a fool when I did it. I don't want to be in the army.
(by extension)
2. (military, dated) To enlist as a soldier of any military force; to join the armed forces.
3. (generally) To be on the payroll of an organization; to work for an organization.
  - 2020 June 17, Christian Wolmar, “The Strategy of ‘Don’t Use the Railways’ Must be Reversed …”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 44:
    My earlier warnings, both in RAIL and in an article I wrote for The Times, have not fallen on deaf ears. There are many people (I suspect most) in the [rail] industry who recognise that telling people not to use their trains will cause lasting damage, but they are silenced publicly because they are now taking the Government's shilling.

Usage notes

In the context of the United Kingdom, sense 1 is also used in the form to take the King’s shilling or to take the Queen’s shilling depending on whether the monarch is a king or queen.

Related terms

King's shilling, Queen's shilling

Translations

to enlist as a soldier in the British army or navy by accepting a shilling from a recruiting officer

Finnish: värväytyä šillingistä
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
Welsh: cymryd swllt y Brenin, cymryd swllt y Frenhines, listio yn y fyddin

to enlist as a soldier of any military force — see enlist

to be on the payroll of an organization

Finnish: olla palkkalistoilla
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

References

^ “History Trails: Wars and Conflict: The King’s Shilling”, in BBC‎^[1], 2005 January 28, archived from the original on 2023-06-28.
^ “Beyond the Broadcast: Making History: Taking the King’s Shilling”, in BBC‎^[2], 2005 March 15, archived from the original on 2005-03-15.