E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Quids,
cash or money generally. A suggested derivation may be mentioned. Quo = anything, and Quid pro quo means an equivalent generally. If now a person is offered anything on sale he might say, I have not a quid for your quo, an equivalent in cash.
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“Then, looking at the gold piece, she added, ‘I guess you don’t often get one of these quids.’”—Liberty Review, June 9, 1894, p. 437.
