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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

cold cash en · NOUN

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, uncountable) Money, regarded as an incentive that can override any doubts or ethical concerns.
  2. (uncountable) Ready money.
    • "Promises, especially from Joe Larkin, will go a long way, though they don't rouse the white hot enthusiasm that cold cash in the pocket does." 1904, David Graham Phillips, chapter 19, in The Cost:
    • Maine has only 1.3 million people but at least 25 trillion gallons of drinkable water in its lakes and aquifers. Wilfong, a former state legislator, wants to turn that resource into cold cash. 2005 December 12, Jyoti Thottham, “War on the Water Front”, in Time:
    • "I wouldn't cross that rock wall for a hundred thousand dollars in cold cash." 1917, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 5, in The Yukon Trail:
    • [H]ighways, dams and research laboratories have lost their primacy; cold cash—for pensions, doctors and hospitals—has taken over. 2000 October 15, Matthew Miller, “The Big Federal Freeze”, in New York Times, retrieved 16 Jul 2013:
  3. (archaic, uncountable) Specie (as contrasted with paper money).

Relateds

cash is king · cash on the barrelhead

Synonyms

cold hard cash · cold hard cash · hard cash · hard cash · cold hard cash · hard cash