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payola

 [pey-oh-luh]   Origin

pay·o·la

   [pey-oh-luh]
noun Informal.
a secret or private payment in return for the promotion of a product, service, etc., through the abuse of one's position, influence, or facilities.
Origin:
1935–40, Americanism; pay1 + -ola
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Payola is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
payola (peɪˈəʊlə)
 
—n
1.  a bribe given to secure special treatment, esp to a disc jockey to promote a commercial product
2.  the practice of paying or receiving such bribes
 
[C20: from pay1 + -ola, as in Pianola]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

payola
"graft" (especially to disc jockeys from record companies to play their music), 1938 [in a "Variety" headline, "Plug payolas perplexed"], from pay off "bribery" (underworld slang from 1930) + ending from Victrola, etc. (see pianola).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

payola definition

[peˈolə]
  1. n.
    a bribe. (Originally a bribe paid to a disk jockeyby record producers to get extra attention for their records.) : The announcer was fired for taking payola.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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