to pay your footing
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To give money for drink when you first enter on a trade. Entry money for being allowed to put your foot in the premises occupied by fellow-craftsmen. Cp. GARNISH.
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 “to pay your footing” mean?
To give money for drink when you first enter on a trade. Entry money for being allowed to put your foot in the premises occupied by fellow-craftsmen. Cp. GARNISH.
Is “to pay your footing” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.