E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Six-and-Eightpence
used to be called a “noble” (q.v.), the third of a pound. The half-noble was often called “ten groats,” and was in Shakespeare’s time the usual lawyer’s fee.
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“As fit as ten groats is for the hand of an attorney.”—Shakespeare: All’s Well that Ends Well, ii. 2.
