Straw poll The first polls were elections held by counting heads, for pol, polle in Middle English simply meant “head.” One still goes to the polls to cast ballots in elections. The first so-called “straw” or unofficial polls were held in the United States in 1824. They consisted chiefly of man-in-the-street interviews or door-to-door canvassing by newspaper reporters. Since the mid-1930s, with debacle of the Literary Digest mail poll, which predicted a victory for Landon over Roosevelt, techniques have been greatly improved. Now, such polls as the Gallup, Harris and Roper surveys are used not only to gauge probable election results but also to test public reaction to new products and the like.

It's also in A Christmas Carol. I had forgotten all about that one and I have several books illustrated by Arthur Rackham. https://victorianweb.org/art/illustration/rackham/7.html

The European/colonial contact with Mexico was from Spain, on Brazil was from Portugal. Different countries, different languages. Real in Spanish means royal. Other countries have currency terms related to their royalty, mostly the crown as a monarchistic symbol. England used the term "crown" for specific coins at various times. In Scandinavian countries, it's the local form for crown - kroner, krona, krone. The Czech Republic still uses koruna.

Wash one’s hands When you wash your hands of something, you have dismissed it from your attention and plan to pay it no further heed. The expression comes from the action of Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:24): “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.”