take the shilling

present singular third person takes the shilling · participle present taking the shilling · past took the shilling · participle past taken the shilling

1. UKhistoricalintransitivegovernmentTo enlist as a soldier in the British army or navy by accepting a shilling from a recruiting officer.

   [O]ne fellow was jilted by his miſtreſs and took the ſhilling in deſpair; […]

   1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Mohun Appears for the Last Time in This History”, in The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. […] , volume III, London: […] Smith, Elder, & Company, […], →OCLC, page 135

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   I have taken the King's shilling, but perhaps if you came for me they would let me go back with you. I was a fool when I did it. I don't want to be in the army.

   1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Strife in Love”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part II, page 182

2. broadlydatedintransitivegovernmentTo enlist as a soldier of any military force; to join the armed forces.
3. broadlyintransitivegenerallyTo be on the payroll of an organization; to work for an organization.

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   My earlier warnings, both in RAIL and in an article I wrote for The Times, have not fallen on deaf ears. There are many people (I suspect most) in the [rail] industry who recognise that telling people not to use their trains will cause lasting damage, but they are silenced publicly because they are now taking the Government's shilling.

   2020 June 17, Christian Wolmar, “The Strategy of ‘Don’t Use the Railways’ Must be Reversed …”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 44