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Glite Dictionary
walk-around money

walk-around money

1 9.9
Money given during elections to get people to vote for a candidate or pay small local costs
  • noun
  • /ˈwɔk əˌraʊnd ˈmʌni/
  • NSFW
translation icon : dinero de campaña
  • During the election, many politicians use walk-around money.

Examples

  • Some officials were charged with handing out walk-around money during the city elections.

  • There's growing concern about the role of walk-around money in corrupting the democratic process.

  • The candidate distributed walk-around money to local organizers to get out the vote.

  • The candidate offered walk-around money to voters.

  • During the election, candidates often distribute walk-around money to gain favor with voters.

  • The politician was accused of handing out walk-around money to ensure people went to the polls.

  • In many campaigns, volunteers are given walk-around money to cover small expenses related to their work.

Synonyms

bribe
vswalk-around money
137 3.6

Money or a gift given to a person in authority to make them act dishonestly

is given mainly during campaigns to influence voters or cover informal expenses

Antonyms

honesty
365 1.0

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

How Illegal

walk-around money
  • NSFW
1 9.9
bribe
137 3.6

Surface Forms

walk-around money singular
walk-around moneys plural

Morphology

walk-around + money

A B1 learner who knows 'walk', 'around' and 'money' would most likely infer a literal sense (money to carry or spend while walking) rather than the specialized political/bribery meaning. The sense 'money distributed to influence voters' is a register-specific, idiomatic usage of 'walk-around money' that is not transparently derived from the constituents and would require prior exposure. Therefore this MWE is not predictable from its parts.

Etymology

Walk-around money comes from the simple picture of small cash that campaign helpers carry while they walk around neighborhoods to give out or spend as they talk to people. One popular story says the money literally 'walked around' with the workers, so the phrase now means money used in campaigns 'to influence voters' or to quietly 'bribe' people.