I came across mention of someone joining “a queue to spend 1d” in a 1945 diary and was not certain that the modern generation would understand the reference. It’s a long time since I heard it though it was quite commonly used in our household when I was young.
The penny, or sometimes a halfpence, was the cost of using a public toilet. Often gents urinals were free but ladies (or gents with other needs) had to spend a penny as each cubicle had a coin operated lock on the door. Keeping 1d in your purse for emergencies was quite common.
Nowadays a trip to a public toilet is either free or at minimum 20p. Somehow spending a 20p doesn’t quite sound the same.
February
6 years ago
