shilling. ( ˈʃɪlɪŋ) n. 1. (Currencies) a former British and Australian silver or cupronickel coin worth one twentieth of a pound: not minted in Britain since 1970. Abbreviation: s or sh. 2. (Currencies) the standard monetary unit of Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda: divided into 100 cents. 3.

take the King's/Queen's shilling old-fashioned To fight in a war in the name of England and its King (or Queen, depending on the ruling monarch of the time). Many Irish soldiers who took the King's shilling in World War I either died in battle or returned home to a country that now viewed them as traitors to the revolutionary cause.

take the King's/Queen's shilling. old-fashioned To fight in a war in the name of England and its King (or Queen, depending on the ruling monarch of the time). Many Irish soldiers who took the King's shilling in World War I either died in battle or returned home to a country that now viewed them as traitors to the revolutionary cause.

: a shilling whose acceptance by a recruit from a recruiting officer constituted until 1879 a binding enlistment in the British army —used when the British monarch is a king he's taken the king's shilling Love words?

To "take the King's shilling" was to agree to serve as a sailor or soldier in the Royal Navy or the British Army. It is closely related to the act of impressment. The practice officially stopped in 1879, although the term is still used informally and there are some cases of it being used still in the early 20th century, albeit largely symbolically.

Meaning of take the King's shilling in English: take the King's shilling phrase (also take the Queen's shilling) British Enlist as a soldier. ‘not everyone who graduates goes on to take the Queen's shilling’ More example sentences Origin With reference to the former practice of paying a shilling to a soldier who enlisted.

Oct 16, 2017 · The phrase to take the shilling, or to take the King’s, or Queen’s, shilling, means to sign up as a soldier, from the former practice of giving a shilling to a recruit when he enlisted. This phrase is first recorded in a note dated 27th March 1707, as published in Remarks and Collections of Thomas Hearne¹ (Oxford Historical Society – Oxford, 1886):

king's shilling (when the sovereign was male) n 1. (Military) (until 1879) a shilling paid to new recruits to the British army 2. (Military) take the king's shilling archaic Brit to enlist in the army

take the king's shilling take the helm take the high road take the initiative take the king's shilling take the law into one's own hands take the law into your own hands take the liberty All …