cut off with a shilling
Preserved but no longer current.
Disinherited. Blackstone tells us that the Romans set aside those testaments which passed by the natural heirs unnoticed; but if any legacy was left, no matter how small, it proved the testator's in- tention. English law has no such provision, but the notion at one time prevailed that the name of the heir should appear in the will; and if he was bequeathed "a shilling," that the testator had not forgotten him, but disinherited him intentionally.
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 “cut off with a shilling” mean?
Disinherited. Blackstone tells us that the Romans set aside those testaments which passed by the natural heirs unnoticed; but if any legacy was left, no matter how small, it proved the testator's in- tention. English law has no such provision, but the notion at one time prevailed that the name of the heir should appear in the will; and if he was bequeathed "a shilling," that the testator had not forgotten him, but disinherited him intentionally.
Is “cut off with a shilling” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.