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What does it mean not to take any wooden nickels?
In the United States, a wooden nickel is a wooden token coin, usually issued by a merchant or bank as a promotion, sometimes redeemable for a specific item such as a drink. An American adage, “Don’t take any wooden nickels”, is considered a lighthearted reminder to be cautious in one’s dealings.
What does the slang term wooden nickel mean?
Definition of wooden nickel 1 : a wooden commemorative or souvenir token having the value of a five-cent piece. 2 or wooden nutmeg : something utterly worthless accepted as a gift or purchased by a gullible person.
What does it mean to spit wooden nickels?
Summary. The phrases including spitting nickels generally mean to be able to do something impossible or astonishing. Standing on your head and spitting nickels dates from the early 1970s. Plain spitting nickels dates from the 1940s, in an anecdote from the 1910s.
What is the origin of the wooden nickel?
Brief History of Wooden Nickels Wooden nickels became popular in the 1930s though they may date back as far as the 1880s. During the Great Depression, banks in both Tenino and Blaine Washington issued emergency currency printed on thin shingles of wood due to coin shortages.
Where did the term don’t take no wooden nickels come from?
The phrase is thought to have originated in the early 20th century when country residents visiting the city were considered easily duped. Primarily heard in US. Have fun tonight and don’t take any wooden nickels!
Where does the saying Wooden Nickel come from?
This phrase fell into use in the 19th century and was addressed to country people venturing into the city. People who were seen as unfamiliar to the town were likely to be cheated and swindled, and wooden nickels were used as a blanket term for this.
Are wooden nickels real?
A good example is the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair that issued wooden nickels as souvenirs. The tradition of wooden nickels as tokens and souvenirs continues to the present day. My grandfather had them printed to commemorate his year as Worshipful Master. More recently, wooden nickel trading has become more popular.
Where did the phrase don’t take any wooden nickels come from?
Do wooden nickels have any value?
Scrip and tokens have often been issued locally in times of severe economic distress such as financial crises and the Civil War. Many are sold today for less than 50 cents each. Older, scarcer wooden nickels can fetch between $1 to $5 each, based on the demand for the piece.
Why “don’t take any wooden nickels”?
A more popular American adage, “Don’t take any wooden nickels” is considered a lighthearted reminder to be cautious in one’s dealings and is in fact directly related in meaning to our story here. It begins with the 555th Combat Engineer Brigade stationed out of Fort Lewis Washington, presently known as Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Why do they call them ‘expired Nickels’?
The production of commemorative wooden nickels certainly contributed to the use of the phrase — the wooden nickels were easily broken and typically specified a final “expiration date.”. If you didn’t redeem them before the event closed — or if you broke your nickels, you were out of luck.
What is the Wooden Nickel Award?
According to James Mitchell, J3 SGM, JTF of The Triple Nickel, “The Wooden Nickel award is pretty much a dunce hat. The old saying “Don’t take any wooden nickels” is directly related. We gather the Senior Leaders in the HQ and nominate Leaders who have made a silly decision, a public mistake or embarrassment.
When were the first wooden nickels made?
See: http://idiomation.wordpress.com/… According to the Wooden Nickel Museum, the first wooden nickels didn’t come around until the 1930s: On December 5, 1931, the Citizen’s Bank of Tenino, Washington failed and created a shortage of money.