old money

Noun

old money (uncountable)

1. (derogatory, idiomatic, often) Families that have been wealthy for generations or members of such families.
   • They found, for example, a significant difference in emphasis as you moved from the “old money” rich, or true elite, to the “new money” rich, or unseasoned elite. The women of “old money” families tend to be relatively indifferent to swings in fashion; and their taste is oriented more to that of...1959, Vance Packard, The Status Seekers, Pocket Books, published 1971, →ISBN, page 118
   • That girl's a student athlete but she's never played a sport
     Her parents had a seven-figure wedding and divorce
     She's stolen from the CVS but her daddy's on the board
     It's gotta be 'cause she's an old money bitch2023, underscores, “Old money bitch”, in Wallsocket
2. (Ireland, UK) The monetary system used in the United Kingdom and Ireland before decimalisation in 1971 and consisting of pounds, shillings, pence and farthings.
3. (Ireland, UK, humorous) The imperial system of measurement or Fahrenheit, as opposed to the metric system or Celsius.
   • These scales say I weigh 72 kilograms; what's that in old money?