Beer money is the nickname for an allowance, established in the year 1800, that was given to non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the British Army. The practice was started at the suggestion of the Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Beer money payments were 1 penny per day and was a replacement for a daily issuance of beer or spirits while troops were on home service. The allowance continued until 1873 when it was rolled into the soldier's daily pay.
The phrase "beer money" is still used in England as a colloquialism for personal money set aside for entertainment, such as going to a pub.
Famous quotes containing the words beer and/or money:
“Boughs have their fruit and blossom
At all times of the year;
Rivers are running over
With red beer and brown beer.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“I began quite early in life to sense the thrill a girl attains in supplying money to a man.”
—Anita Loos (1894–1981)