annas in the rupee
English
editEtymology
editA rupee was worth 16 annas, so eight annas represented a half-and-half mixture, and so on.
Noun
editannas in the rupee pl (plural only)
- (Anglo-India, archaic, colloquial, offensive) Used with a number to indicate the degree of an individual's mixed racial descent.
- 1930, The Royal Engineers Journal, volume 44, page 285:
- By the end of the second day he was so dark that he looked to be at least eight annas in the rupee […]
- 2007, Indu Sundaresan, The Splendor of Silence, page 98:
- And in the end, all knew that it was true, Rosalie was only four annas in the rupee.