Word of the Day Archive
Thursday June 24, 2004
pin money \pin money\ , noun:
1. An allowance of money given by a husband to his wife for private and personal expenditures.
2. Money for incidental expenses.
3. A trivial sum.
Women's groups have contended that jobs that usually go to men pay more because of the old-fashioned idea that a man is supporting a family while a woman is merely working for pin money.
-- Juan Williams, "A Question of Fairness", The Atlantic, February-1987
Many young people take jobs in hotels and pubs as a way of earning a bit of pin money, or to top up the student loans and parental hand-outs that see them through the cash-strapped college years
-- Nick Pandya, "Failed to make the grade? You're still wanted", The Guardian, September 7, 2002
A record-smashing fine sounds tough, but it's pin money for Credit Suisse.
-- Nick Cohen, "Life in a bubble bath", The Observer, December 22, 2002
Pin money originally referred to money given by husbands to their wives for the specific purpose of buying pins.
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for pin money
