Prior to
metrication, in the
United Kingdom, the standard single measure of spirits in a
pub was 1⁄6 gill (23.7 mL) in
England and
Northern Ireland, and either 1⁄5 gill (28.4 mL) or 1⁄4 gill (35.5 mL) in
Scotland. After metrication, this was replaced by measures of either 25 or 35 millilitres (0.176 or 0.246 gi), at the discretion of the proprietor.
However, a spirit measure in the
Isle of Man is still defined as 1⁄5 gill (28.4 mL) and 1⁄6 gill (23.7 mL) in Northern Ireland.[1][2] Colloquially, in all jurisdictions, a measure of spirits is referred to as a 'gill' regardless of metrication and the way it is defined.
Half of a gill is a jack, or an eighth of a pint.[3] But in northern England, a quarter pint could also be called a jack or a noggin, rather than a gill, and in some areas a half pint could be called a gill, particularly for beer and milk.[4][5][6]
Ireland
In
Ireland, the standard spirit measure was historically 1⁄4 gill and in both the
Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland, it still retains this value, though it is now legally specified in metric units as 35.5 mL.
There are occasional references to a gill in popular culture, such as in:
Literature
In
L. Frank Baum's The Patchwork Girl of Oz, one of the ingredients required for a magic spell is a gill of water from a dark well. In chapter 19, the obscure unit is used for humor including a pun with the nursery rhyme "
Jack and Jill", which also involved a well.
In
George Orwell'sAnimal Farm, Moses the Raven is allotted a gill of beer a day after he returns, with the implication that this is part of his payment for supporting the farm leaders, the pigs.
In
Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island there are uses of the measure gill, with Israel Hands drinking a gill of brandy in the chapter "I Strike the Jolly Roger". In Stevenson's Kidnapped the protagonist, David Balfour, is "forced" "to drink about a gill" of brandy.
In
Melvyn Bragg's memoir Back in the Day he recalls his grandfather in the pub with "a gill of bitter" in front of him.
The traditional English folk song "
Byker Hill" begins with the words, "If I had another penny, I would have another gill."
The Fall's song "Edinburgh Man" contains the line "Keep me away from
the Festival and just give me a warm quarter-gill."
Television
A gill is also referenced in Archer season 2, episode 3 ("Blood Test") when Barry explains to Archer that a liter of blood is, "about 8 gills". (Eight gills would be 32 US fl oz, or 0.95 L.) A call back reference, also discussing units of blood, is further made in season 3, episode 3 ("Heart of Archness, Part 3"). In both instances, the word is pronounced with a hard ⟨g⟩.
In "
Bart the Genius," an episode of The Simpsons, a child tricks Bart by offering, "I'll trade you 1,000 picoliters of my milk for four gills of yours." (A
picoliter is a trillionth of a liter, so Bart is losing almost a pint of milk in this exchange.)
Mispronunciation
Because of its more widely used homograph, gill has sometimes been mispronounced with a hard 'g' sound. In English, the sound of soft ⟨g⟩ is the affricate /dʒ/, as in general, giant, and gym. A ⟨g⟩ at the end of a word usually renders a hard ⟨g⟩ (as in "rag"), while if a soft rendition is intended it would be followed by a silent ⟨e⟩ (as in "rage").
FX's animated cartoon Archer mispronounced gill in the episodes "Blood Test" (Season 2, Episode 3)[9] and "Heart of Archness: Part Three" (Season 3, Episode 3).[10]