jenny's bawbee

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Her marriage portion. Wha'll hire, wha'll hire, wha*ll hire me? Three plumps and a wallop for ae bawbee.

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 “jenny's bawbee” mean?

Her marriage portion. Wha'll hire, wha'll hire, wha*ll hire me? Three plumps and a wallop for ae bawbee.

Is “jenny's bawbee” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.