bottom currency
n.— «If she were to pay for all her transport, food and accommodation expenses when she is away from home, she would make very little profit. So to boost her profit margins, she pays using what is known as “bottom currency,” to pay off bus crews to secure seats on overcrowded buses, truck drivers to ferry bags of maize back to Hwange, and lodge owners to discount her accommodation costs.…She points out that it did not take her long to figure out that she had to sleep with the fishermen for her to get in order to meet her requirements quickly.» —“Women Forced to Give Sexual Favours to Survive” by Miriam Madziwa in Zimbabwe Fahamu (Oxford, United Kingdom) Nov. 29, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about…eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus...
Colin from Los Angeles, California, is pondering the expression make no bones about it, which suggests the speaker is talking or acting with no hesitation whatsoever. The saying is inspired by the idea of literally finding bones in one’s food, since...