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:
“You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1993)
“For words are wise men’s counters, they do but reckon by them; but they are the money of fools, that value them by the authority of an Aristotle, a Cicero, or a Thomas, or any other doctor whatsoever, if but a man.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)