macdonalds advert

[arrymong]

did my ears deceive me or did i hear one pound being referred to as "one bob", some mistake surely!!!
i always thought that a bob was slang for a shilling(5 pence in new money)

[fredpuli47]

arrymong,and there was I thinking I'd imagined it ! Yes, he certainly says 'bob' and goes on to say it's a quid or a pound. Perhaps the ad was scripted by an American ( or anyone under 40 ! ). A bob was a shilling, equivalent to a couple of tanners, or half a florin, but less than half of half a dollar !

[bobdavison]

I received the following answer from Macdonalds when I rasied it with them -
Although a 'bob' was formerly used as a slang term for the shilling until the introduction of
decimalisation in 1971, research has shown it is now more commonly used as slang for a
pound or money in general. As with many words in the English language, the technical
meaning of words can change over time and although the word remains in use, what it
signifies may develop into something else. For example, a friend asking you to "lend me a
few bob" may invariably be asking for a few pounds, rather than multiples of 5p.

[puternut]

Wife and I both commented when we heard this.

And methinks bobdavison has been given a MaccyD version of things - just like their burgers (Looks good in an advert but is really just a fistful of cr@p)

[Postdog]

Hmm, just noticed it. Sorry McD, you dropped one - just admit it. I can recall since the introduction of Decimalisation calling the 50p a ten bob bit, so their argument is WAY off. Shame Harry Hill is off....

[dukwman]

You are right! Just looked up a dictionary web site & it clearly defines a bob as a shilling - makes you wonder if they misunderstand other words like "fresh" or "pure"?