Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 26, 2010
I Swear...
Money, money!
Vic Fleming
It should go without saying that money is a significant concept in the world. Always has been, always will be, I would think.
The word money comes to us from the Latin word “moneta,” via the Anglo-French derivative thereof, “moneie,” and, ultimately from a 14th century English descendant thereof, “moneye.”
As often is the case with a simple-sounding, easy-to-pronounce, relatively short word, money’s degree of importance has spawned over time a vast array of idiomatic usage.
Someone who suddenly becomes rich is said to be “in the money.”
A person who is precisely correct is “right on the money.”
An item of the utmost high quality is said to be the “best that money can buy.”
If I say, “For my money, …,” most likely no money is involved at all, but I am about to say something that I believe is either surely correct or preferable to something previously said.
We say that someone is “getting his money’s worth” when the experience that he is having exceeds in some way that which might be considered normal. For example, if a person is having a horrible round of golf, by hitting balls into every pond and flower bed, we say that he’s getting his money’s worth.
If someone has a lot of cash and seems to spend it recklessly, it is said that person “has money to burn.”
Of that same person, we might say that “He has more money than he has sense.”
“Money is no object” is said when someone is bound and determined to buy a specific thing and is prepared to pay any price.
“Money talks” hints at the reality that those with a lot of cash are able to wield power and influence – sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. From bribes for improper actions at one extreme to merely exceptional service in hopes of a large tip at the other.
“Put your money where your mouth is” is a phrase that often leads to a wager between its utterer and someone who was boasting about how well his team is going to do this coming weekend.
Recognized two-word phrases include blood money, cheap money, dirty money, easy money, even money, front money, folding money, good money, hard money, hush money, mad money, new money, old money, paper money, pocket money, prize money, purchase money, ready money, seed money, smart money, soft money, and spending money. That’s with money in the second slot.
There are several with money in the first slot, including money belts, money boxes, money changers, money grubbers, money handlers, money laundering, money lenders, money makers, money managers, money markets, and money supplies.
And I could go on. But won’t. At least not yet.
For now, next time you go to your wallet for a bill or to your coin purse to feed the meter, don’t overlook the rich heritage that is involved with the legal tender you are handling.
Vic Fleming is a district court judge in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he also teaches at the William H. Bowen School of Law. Contact him at vicfleming@att.net.
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