A boodler is someone involved in bribery, graft, or political corruption. The word likely traces to Dutch boedel, meaning property; English boodle has carried that property-and-money sense, while boodler points to the person doing the corrupt...
“A fish stinks from the head down.” When an Indianapolis woman is quoted saying that, she’s accused of calling someone a stinky fish. She says she wasn’t speaking literally, insisting that this is a turn of phrase that means “corruption in an...
milker bill n.— «politicians routinely submit legislative bills that would take money from various persons or groups, and then withdraw them once (constitutionally protected) payments are made. These bills go by different names. In California they...
yellow bird n.— «For another, ward leaders have been known to take street money from candidates, promise support and then not deliver. There is a name for this, too. These ward leaders are called “yellow birds,” after the old airline commercial...
spang v. to beg for money. Also spange. Hence, spanger, a person who begs for money. Editorial Note: Rhymes with change or range. Etymological Note: Usually said to be a corruption of spare change. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)