“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness.

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.”

(Charles Dickens, “David Copperfield”)

For those not familiar with the currency of Victorian England, Great Britain’s currency pre-decimalisation was pounds, shillings and pence. This was abbreviated to £,s,d.

With this monetary system 12 pence = 1 shilling and 20 shillings = 1 pound.

So in the above quote “nineteen pounds nineteen and six” is £19, 19 shillings and six pence. Which is six pence under 20 pounds.”

Twenty pound ought and six” is £20, 0 shillings and six pence. Which is six pence over 20 pounds