Slang terms for money in old-time Phoenix


I was reading a book today, which was set in the 1920s (or '30s) in London, and the main character used the term spondulix for money, which took me by surprise - because I kind of thought that I knew all of the slang terms for money. I guess it just shows to go ya that some slang terms just fade away, and are lost, or that I don't know everything, or both. So of course I started thinking about slang terms for money, and what it would sound like in old-time Phoenix.

Since I was a kid in the '60s, I have vague memories of money being called "bread" or "dough". I've heard the Three Stooges use the term "dough" in the 1930s, but I doubt that they would have recognized the term "bread". I really don't know when the term moola came into common use, but I don't know if people in old-time Phoenix would have recognized it. Whether young people recognize these terms nowadays I have no idea.

I also know that you can rub your thumb on your forefinger and index finger to indicate money - or paying for something. I've even heard it called "scratch".


I suppose the National Bank of Arizona would have recognized the term spondulix when they issued the twenty at the top of this post. I wonder who Hugh McCulloch was? Gotta do some research on that! And my mind boggles at how valuable a twenty would have been in 1912 - like a g-note today!

Well, how about that! I just did a search for slang terms for money that aren't used anymore, and spondulix was included. Here they are: bones, clams, tamales, scratch, grease, cheese, guap, lettuce, salad, scrilla, scrill, chips, cake, ducats, spondulix, celery, and cabbage.

I have a feeling that if I time-traveled to old-time Phoenix and was asked for some tamales, grease, cheese, guap, lettuce, salad, chips, cake, or cabbage, I would have just told them to go to the nearest restaurant. And they'd either just stare at me, or punch me in the nose.

Thank you for spending some spondulix with me in old-time Phoenix!
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