Five pence halfpenny

Five pence halfpenny: Something not visible; not there. A derisive term among the men at the front referring to the Government messing allowance. To supplement the men's rations, drawn in kind by Quartermasters, an expenditure of five pence halfpenny a day was allowed, to be laid out at the Quartermaster's discretion. As the money was never actually seen by the soldier, the phrase "five pence halfpenny" came to be used as a sort of by-word.