"He's into me for fifty quid" means "He owes me fifty pounds". It's common enough in the UK, but I'm fairly sure I've heard it in American movies too (bucks or grand there, not quid, obviously), so I don't think it's particularly a UK expression.
But since I just had reason to say it, I got to wondering "Why 'into'?", and realised it's a bit odd. Is it just short for "in debt to"? When I say it, I feel like "into" is one word, and a quick Google shows that's how people write it, but if you just miss out the word "debt" you'd still have two words left.
Anyone know the origin/first use?
Best Answer
Partridge
Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2002) says:
Where Can coll. is Canadian colloquial. The 2007 edition more simply says:
"... into me for ..."
Diving into Google Books, here's a possible 1902 from the American Ainslee's Magazine, Volume 10, Issues 1-6:
And a definite 1903 from Arthur Morris Binstead's Pitcher in Paradise: Some Random Reminiscences, Sporting and Otherwise, published in London:
Here's a possible 1890 in Puck magazine which may be using a with a pun on the phrase:
Walked and dribbled
Here's an interesting one from a possibly 1903 Pearson's Magazine:
Dribbling can also be found in the possibly 1917 Norsk-Engelsk Ordbog:
And finally, these two have walked into me for a [sum], which could be part of the same phrase.