Don't take any wooden nickels
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
A friendly but cautionary farewell meaning: stay alert, avoid being cheated, and do not accept anything worthless or deceptive. Usually humorous and affectionate rather than a literal warning about currency. It often closes a conversation or letter. Regional use: American English.
Origin
The warning is American and was in circulation by the early 20th century; a 1917 collection by Franklin P. Adams and William E. Hill includes it as an already intelligible farewell. A wooden nickel could figuratively mean a worthless object passed to a gullible person. Although towns and fairs issued many wooden souvenir nickels during the 1930s, the saying predates that practice, so those tokens did not coin the expression. Its precise first speaker and immediate occasion remain unknown.
Research Sources
Variants
- Do not take any wooden nickels
- Don't accept any wooden nickels
Usage Examples
- Enjoy the city, keep your wallet close, and don't take any wooden nickels.
- Grandad ended every holiday phone call with, 'Don't take any wooden nickels.'
- The editor's last advice to the new reporter was not to take any wooden nickels from smooth-talking sources.