pin money — LACE PINS

In a Guardian piece tackling workplace sexism, the mention of women no longer being told they're working for "pin money" caught my eye. But what's the deal with this term? Does it have any literal connection to pins? Nope, "pin money" isn't about actual lace pins. It's a 17th-century expression that sounds more belittling than it truly is. Today, it simply means a small amount of money, maybe for little extras. Since the days of the Suffragists, though, it's been used to diminish the wages of working women. In its earliest form, "pin money" meant an annual sum allocated to...