Cross and Pile
Preserved but no longer current.
The obverse and reverse sides of a coin, head and tail; hence, money generally, pitch and toss, etc. Pile is French for the reverse of a coin, and the other side for centuries was marked with a cross.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Cross and Pile” mean?
The obverse and reverse sides of a coin, head and tail; hence, money generally, pitch and toss, etc. Pile is French for the reverse of a coin, and the other side for centuries was marked with a cross.
Is “Cross and Pile” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.