Slush fund

 

Slush fund

This is a term that is bandied about freely (and bandied about is another interesting expression)

It can be used innocently to describe an emergency supply of savings, money for ‘a rainy day.’  However, to many, if not most, people, a slush fund implies a bribe in business or politics, a sum of money set aside in hidden accounts for nefarious purposes.

In the 18^th century, during long sea voyages, ships carried provisions of salted pork and beef. The ship’s cooks boiled the meat in large cauldrons and as the fat, known as slush, rose to the surface, it would be skimmed off and stored in barrels.

 On reaching port, the slush would be sold to local merchants for use in the manufacture of candles, or soap, or shoes. The resulting cash was used to buy non-essential goods for the crew, things like books, musical instruments, or tobacco. Occasionally it would be used to supplement ship’s rations with tea or sugar.

Sometimes the captain and the cooks would keep the money so acquired for themselves, denying the rest of the crew any share of the spoils. The first documented case was printed in William McNally’s 1839 book, ‘Evils and Abuses in the Naval and Merchant Service.’ Officers and cooks conspired to keep the cash for themselves or to bribe others to keep the secret.

Thus began the change of meaning from ‘extra cash’ to ‘illicit money.’ The oldest political instance was in 1874, when the expression ‘slush fund’ appeared in the US Congressional Record. It referenced a fund acquired annually by Congress that was distributed without auditing.

There have been many infamous and well-documented instances of slush fund dealings in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany – in fact, it is doubtful if there are there any countries in which slush funds have not been used at some point.