queen's shilling
Americannoun
noun
-
(until 1879) a shilling paid to new recruits to the British army
-
archaic to enlist in the army
Etymology
Origin of queen's shilling
First recorded in 1875–80
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.
He will not, however, be able to count on his 1891 Queen's shilling that he used as a ball marker when he won his first tournament nine years ago.
From Reuters
He was quietly turning an honest penny wrecking London's skyline when he took the Queen's shilling to rescue RBS.
From The Guardian
He put his solitary win at the Dutch Open eight years ago down to an 1891 'Queen's Shilling', a coin handed to soldiers before going to war.
From Reuters
He credited that victory to an 1891 "Queen's Shilling" that his father gave him to use as a ball marker after he lost his longtime Wedgwood China marker a week earlier.
From Seattle Times
When the recruit took the Queen’s shilling, he ceased to be a free citizen.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
