Gill (unit)

The gill  or teacup is a unit of measurement for volume equal to a quarter of a pint. It is no longer in common use, except in regard to the volume of alcoholic spirits measures.

Imperial

 * In imperial units:


 * - style="vertical-align: top;"
 * 1 imperial gill
 * ≡ 5 imperial fluid ounces
 * || ≡ $1/32$ imperial gallon
 * || ≡ $1/4$ imperial pint
 * || ≡ $1/2$ Imperial cups
 * || = 40 Imperial fluid drams
 * || ≡ 142.0653125 mL
 * || ≈ 142 mL
 * || ≈ 1.2 US gills
 * || ≈ 8.67 in3
 * }
 * || ≡ 142.0653125 mL
 * || ≈ 142 mL
 * || ≈ 1.2 US gills
 * || ≈ 8.67 in3
 * }
 * || ≈ 8.67 in3
 * }
 * }

US

 * In United States customary units:


 * - style="vertical-align: top;"
 * 1 US gill
 * ≡ 4 US fl oz
 * || ≡ $1/32$ US gallon
 * || ≡ $1/8$ US quart
 * || ≡ $1/4$ US pint
 * || ≡ $1/2$ US cup
 * || ≡ 8 tablespoons
 * || ≡ 24 teaspoons
 * || ≡ 32 US fluid drams
 * || ≡ 7$7/32$ in3
 * || ≡ 118.29411825 mL
 * || ≈ 118 mL
 * || ≈ $5/6$ imperial gills
 * }
 * || ≡ 32 US fluid drams
 * || ≡ 7$1/4$ in3
 * || ≡ 118.29411825 mL
 * || ≈ 118 mL
 * || ≈ ⇭⇭⇭ imperial gills
 * }
 * || ≈ 118 mL
 * || ≈ ⇭⇭⇭ imperial gills
 * }
 * || ≈ ⇭⇭⇭ imperial gills
 * }

United Kingdom
Prior to metrication, in the United Kingdom, the standard single measure of spirits in a pub was 1/6 impgi in England and Northern Ireland, and either 1/5 impgi or 1/4 impgi in Scotland. After metrication, this was replaced by measures of either 25 or, at the discretion of the proprietor.

However, a spirit measure in the Isle of Man is still defined as 1/5 impgi and 1/6 impgi in Northern Ireland.

Half of a gill is a jack, or an eighth of a pint. 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.

Scotland
In Scotland, there were additional sizes:
 * big gill = 1+1/2 impgi
 * wee gill = 3/4 impgi
 * wee half gill = 3/8 impgi
 * nip=1/4 impgi

Ireland
In Ireland, the standard spirit measure was historically ⇭⇭⇭ 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 1/4 impgi.

In popular culture
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's Animal 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.
 * Dan Simmons' novel The Terror (2007) makes frequent references to gills of grog and rum.
 * 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.

Music

 * The cumulative song "The Barley Mow".
 * 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 8 usgi, or 8 usgi.) 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.
 * FX's animated cartoon Archer mispronounced gill in the episodes "Blood Test" (Season 2, Episode 3) and "Heart of Archness: Part Three" (Season 3, Episode 3).