1920s Slang For Money (Explained!)

The most common slang terms for money in the 1920s were things like “buck” and “dough”. Depending on where you were, you might also hear “Mazuma” and “moolah”. Most of the slang terms for money from this time have survived until today and you’ll still be familiar with them.

Slang for money in the 1920s was fairly prevalent, then, and it was definitely a time when many new terms for money were arising.

Especially in the United States, during the famous “roaring” 20s everyone had a lot more money and so naturally there arose a lot more terms to describe money.

Let’s find out more.

What was money called in the 1920s?

Money went by many different names in the 1920s.

For starters, a lot of the terms that you would be familiar with today were already in use in the 1920s.

In America, for instance, the virtually universal slang term “bucks” for dollars was well in use by the 1920s and indeed became popularized to a large extent during this time.

It’s thought to have derived from the practice of trading buckskins during the 19^th Century.

Other generic terms that you will still hear today were very popular in the 1920s.

“Dough” for example was very common in the United States, although it was also used in Britain.

This again could refer to any amount of money, though it was most often used in the context of having a large quantity of money.

“Moolah” was another of these terms, and one you’ll still hear in regular usage today at least in some parts of the world.

Terms more specific to the 1920s which you do hear as much anymore include things like “Mazuma”.

This was a term for cash specifically as opposed to money in the bank, and so one that you would often hear used on the streets.

This one is still in use to some extent today, although not nearly as much as it once was.

It had been in use for a long time prior to the 1920s, but this is when it was largely popularized.

These were the primary slang terms for money during the 1920s.

As you can see, most if not all of them are still in very common use today—at least among those most commonly used terms.

We’ll look at some lesser known, and lesser used, terms shortly.

First, where did these words come from?

Why did people say “dough” in the 1920s?

The term “dough” as a slang word for money had been in use for some time prior to the 1920s, though this is when it became more common.

It is first recorded as having the meaning of “money” in 1851, though obviously the word itself in its literal sense of flour ready for baking is much older.

The slang sense of money related to the older slang term “bread” which was used for money.

This was less common in the 1920s in the United States, but the term “dough” ultimately derived from this.

It referred to the fact that bread was a staple foodstuff, which you would use your money to pay for to feed your family.

Why did people say “Mazuma” in the 1920s?

Mazuma, again, was a slightly older term which became very popular in the 1920s.

It is first recorded in use in the English language in 1894, although the word itself is considerably older.

It ultimately derives from Yiddish, which in turn came from Mishnaic Hebrew and had the sense of “cash”.

This term, then, was simply a loan word from another language, which made its way into English via Yiddish speaking Jewish communities in America.

As mentioned, this one is still used to an extent today, although nowhere near as much as it once was—it’s more reserved for Jewish families and is not used as much outside of this demographic.

Why did people say “moolah” in the 1920s?

This term is a quintessentially 1920s term, and is first recorded around this time.

Ultimately, though, we don’t know where this term comes from.

The same word was earlier a form of the title of the Islamic word, mullah.

It may relate to the kinds of riches that mullahs could enjoy, but this is by no means certain.

We may never know where this common term came from.

What else did people call money in the 1920s?

Another somewhat common slang term for money in the 1920s was “cush”.

The idea was that your money was a “cushion” onto which you could fall back if you fell on hard times, and so this is where this slang term comes from.

Again, we aren’t sure precisely when this term started being used, but it was plainly popularized during the 1920s.

“Cheddar” was sometimes used as slang for money at this time, though again this was quite a bit older and not as specific to the 1920s—that said, it was widely used during this time as others from earlier periods were.

There were a lot of slang terms for money at this time, then.

From the most general to the more specific, money was moving around a great deal more at this time, and people who might not have had a lot before suddenly found themselves richer than they had been. It was not to last long with the looming depression of the 1930s, but nevertheless, it gave rise to many slang terms during its time.

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