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How did ‘wonga’ come to be used as slang for money?

8 September 2018

9:00 AM

8 September 2018

9:00 AM

Origins of Wonga

The payday lender Wonga has gone into administration. How did ‘wonga’ come to be used as slang for money?
— The term is believed to have derived from the Romany word ‘wangar’ which, although used as a term for money, in fact means ‘coal’. This in turn has Indo-Iranian origins.

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