What does king's shilling mean?

king's shilling

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.11 in modern English

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noun

A shilling accepted by new recruits when agreeing to or tricked into enlisting into the British army or navy during the 18th and 19th centuries.

British usage

noun

"I have taken the King's shilling, but perhaps if you came for me they would let me go back with you. I was a fool when I did it. I don't want to be in the army."

Wiktionary places this term in Military.

King's shillings (plural) Queen's shilling (alternative)

take the shilling one of His Majesty's bad bargains

take the shilling one of His Majesty's bad bargains

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