pork barrel
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pork barrel
Government funding made to a particular area or group to win support or popularity there. He won that district's votes by using the pork barrel and paying for a new community building.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
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]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.