'Brass' up north, 'wonga' in the capital and 'dough' in Scotland. As part of its Fluent in Finance Report, Barclays has today drawn up the first money map of Britain, which reveals the most popular money colloquialisms in use today across the UK.

The Barclays Fluent In Finance Report follows the launch of Barclays' new advertising campaign starring Hollywood superstar Samuel L Jackson, which explores the many ways in which people's talk about money. The report catalogues the rich vocabulary that has grown up around money over the past 300 years, and celebrates the language of money from Shakespeare's day to the latest terms in use today on the streets and in all kinds of markets across the world.

The research, published today, includes:

• The top money terms used in each region of Britain and the variation in money terms between regions.
• The Top 10 money words most commonly used in the UK New emerging financial colloquialisms.
• A look at how and why we have adopted this language - as well as where the terms have come from.

Caitlin Thomas, Barclays Brand Strategy Director, said: "Money is one of the most prolific and productive sources of vocabulary. This Fluent in Finance report really goes to show that there is a huge amount of jargon out there."

The UK's Top 10 money words

'Dosh' (the offspring of 'dollar' and 'cash') is the nation's favourite term for money. In fact, so popular has it become that it has recently acquired its own Cockney rhyming slang with, for example, 'rogan josh' and 'orange squash' appearing. In the number two slot comes 'dough'. This reinforces the popularity of food terms such as 'sausage and mash - cash' and 'squid - quid'. Sliding in at number three is 'readies,' while 'brass' and 'bread' battle it out for fourth position. This top ten, unlike the weekly pop charts, has been built up over half a millennium.

New money slang terms

The report shows that although some money colloquialisms go back to the 16th century ('brass' used to describe a pile of coins and 'gelt' from German or Dutch), new terms are emerging all the time, particularly from market traders and City traders. The 1980s, the decade that loved money, was a particularly fruitful era for money jargon. This was a time when "wonga" flowed like water, when you had to be "holding folding" and when, in the words of Harry Enfield's 'Loadsamoney', ' "Wad" was God." Puns continue to play their part too - from a 'Placido' (tenner) through to a 'Hawaii' (Five-O).

Download your PDF copy of the money report from the Barclays website here:
http://www.newsroom.barclays.co.uk/publications/money_jargon.pdf