mad money

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

mad money (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) A sum of money, often relatively small in amount, kept in reserve to use for impulsive, frivolous purposes.
   • 1975 November 10, “Baglets”, in Time:

     Ultrasuede minibags "are just the solution for waste." And for crime. Most minis hardly hold more than mad money and a comb.

2. (idiomatic) A sum of money kept in reserve or to insulate oneself financially in the event of the sudden breakdown of a relationship in which one is economically dependent.
   • 1975, George Javor, “Mad Money: A Semantic Change”, in American Speech, vol. 50, no. 1/2, p. 155:

     Such an expression is mad money, noted as early as 1922 by Howard J. Savage (Dialect Notes 5:148) at the end of an article on Bryn Mawr slang. Savage's definition is 'money a girl carries in case she has a row with her escort and wishes to go home alone.'

See also

• pocket money, spending money

References

• “mad money”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987–1996.