Smith: "Oh, thirty shillings or two pounds; whatever you happen to have on you."" - Meaning and context.">
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A 1924 entry in Evelyn Waugh's diary, cited in The Times 23 May 2006, Law supplement p. 7
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High Court judge presiding in a sodomy case, seeking advice on sentencing: "Could you tell me, what do you think one ought to give a man who allows himself to be buggered?"
Smith: "Oh, thirty shillings or two pounds; whatever you happen to have on you."

— F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "High Court judge presiding in a sodomy case, seeking advice on sentencing: "Could you tell me, what do you think one ought to give a man who allows himself to be buggered?"
Smith: "Oh, thirty shillings or two pounds; whatever you happen to have on you."" in the context of "A 1924 entry in Evelyn Waugh's diary, cited in The Times 23 May 2006, Law supplement p. 7" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead#sentencing#presiding#shillings#buggered#whatever#seeking#himself#sodomy#advice#allows#thirty

About F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead

Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, GCSI, PC (12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930) was a British Conservative statesman and lawyer of the early 20th century. He was a skilled orator, noted for his staunch opposition to Irish nationalism, his wit, pugnacious views, and hard living and drinking. He is perhaps best remembered today as Winston Churchill's greatest personal and political friend until Smith's untimely death at age 58.