| pork barrel | |
| —n | |
| slang chiefly (US) | |
| a. a bill or project requiring considerable government spending in a locality to the benefit of the legislator's constituents | |
| b. (as modifier): pork-barrel spending | |
| [C20: term originally applied to the Federal treasury considered as a source of lucrative grants] | |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
pork barrel
Government funding of something that benefits a particular district, whose legislator thereby wins favor with local voters. For example, Our senator knows the value of the pork barrel. This expression alludes to the fatness of pork, equated with political largesse since the mid-1800s. [c. 1900]