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king's shilling

American

noun

(until 1879) a shilling given a recruit in the British army to bind his enlistment contract.

king's shilling British

noun

(until 1879) a shilling paid to new recruits to the British army
archaic to enlist in the army

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Any woman who fulfils those criteria is more than welcome to take the king's shilling!

From The Guardian • Aug. 7, 2012

He had succeeded, it appears, in getting some of Selkirk's men to take the king's shilling, and now was trying to lead these men away from the ships as 'deserters from His Majesty's service.'

From The Red River Colony A Chronicle of the Beginnings of Manitoba by Wood, Louis Aubrey

The heir, Nicholas II., had taken the king's shilling to be quit of his home, and was out in Philadelphia, fighting under Sir Henry Clinton.

From Shining Ferry by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir

What after all would it matter if he took the king's shilling and went to the wars?

From Patsy by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023