Spud gun Spud gun A spud gun is a small children's toy gun used to fire a fragment of potato. To operate, one punctures the surface of a potato with the gun's hollow tip and pries out a small pellet which fits snugly in the muzzle. Squeezing the grip causes a small build-up of air pressure inside the toy which propels the projectile. The devices are usually short-range and low-powered. The first spud gun was invented during the Great Depression, when few people would have wanted to waste a potato. The original inventor sold his patent to E. Joseph Cossman for US$600
Slang terms for money referred to as a "bag" (from the rhyming slang "Bag of Sand"), e.g., £4,000 would be called 4 bags. A "oner" (one-er) has referred to various amounts from one shilling to a pound, to now meaning £100 or £1,000, and a "big one" denoting £1,000. A "oncer" referred particularly to a one-pound note, now defunct. It is also fairly common now in the UK to count backwards from these large denominations using the word "down", e.g. £380 might be "four ton, 20 down" in UK slang. Other rhyming slang expressions for particular quantities of money in the United Kingdom include: