slush fund
6
7.5
- noun
- /slʌʃ fʌnd/
- NSFW
:
fondo negro
- You didn't know Haldeman had control of the slush fund?
What are the chances the Republicans will work against Donald Trump with Democrats to just start a new slush fund under a different name?
- What are the chances the Republicans will work against Donald Trump with Democrats to just start a new slush fund under a different name?
Examples
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They treat the treasury, built with customs and tax revenues, as personal slush funds.
Academic text (2007) -
Under various Mexican administrations, PEMEX had been the off-budget slush fund for the top government leaders, who tapped its revenues for everything from building supermarkets in areas where they wanted to please constituents to operating schools and hospitals.
Academic text (2001) -
Okay, we know there were five men who controlled the slush fund.
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Nixon was accused of hiding a secret slush fund.
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What are the chances the Republicans will work against Donald Trump with Democrats to just start a new slush fund under a different name?
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It's a slush fund where the Pentagon keeps proceeds from illegal arms sales.
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The excess funds were then channeled into a secret slush fund.
Academic text (1996) -
Well Gutchel was paid out of the slush fund, so there's no way he can be tied to the company.
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Northrop's criminal convictions reach back to 1972, when it was convicted of maintaining a slush fund that was used to buy the silence of the Watergate burglars.
Academic text (1996) -
The politician was investigated for using a secret slush fund to finance his campaign.
How Illicit
Surface Forms
Morphology
slush + fund
The meaning 'reserve of money used for illicit purposes' cannot be reliably inferred from the constituents: 'fund' simply means money set aside, while 'slush' is rare/ambiguous (commonly wet snow or grease) and does not transparently signal secrecy or corruption to a B1 learner. The idiomatic, historically specialized sense of 'slush' in this compound is unpredictable and not cross-linguistically obvious, so learners who know the parts would still likely not understand the expression.
Etymology
Slush fund comes from life on old ships: crew would collect leftover melted fat called slush and sell it to make a small fund for treats or small needs. Because this cash was kept outside the ship's official accounts, slush fund came to mean a secret reserve of money used for shady purposes like 'bribery' or 'corruption'.