"coffee money" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "A euphemism that refers to the amount of money typically enough to buy a cup of coffee.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "coffee money (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "46 54",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Corruption",
          "orig": "en:Corruption",
          "parents": [
            "Crime",
            "Politics",
            "Criminal law",
            "Society",
            "Law",
            "All topics",
            "Justice",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Loose change."
      ],
      "id": "en-coffee_money-en-noun-F4mfFSVI",
      "links": [
        [
          "Loose change",
          "loose change"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) Loose change."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "63 37",
          "word": "tea money"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Southeast Asian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "46 54",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Corruption",
          "orig": "en:Corruption",
          "parents": [
            "Crime",
            "Politics",
            "Criminal law",
            "Society",
            "Law",
            "All topics",
            "Justice",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1998, Alexandra Kett, Passport Singapore: Your Pocket Guide to Singaporean Business, Customs & Etiquette, page 31",
          "text": "Singapore is free of corruption as any place on earth. (Even small-scale bribery attempts lead to immediate arrest.) Ironically, this has surfaced as a disadvantage for Singaporeans conducting business in other countries - where contacts aren’t always considered binding, bureaucratic inefficiency can make a mockery of time tables, infrastructures can be unreliable, “quality” may be seen as a relative term and “tea money” (known as “coffee money” during Singapore’s British colonial days) is a prerequisite to getting anything done.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 March 31, Alan Wong, “The Stupid Things I Did At The Malaysian Custom”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)",
          "text": "Obviously he was trying to wear out your patience in the hope that you will hand over some undercounter coffee money to him instead of paying for the official tax/fine which does not benefit him at all.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 September 16, Roger Poh, “Driving in Malaysia: Why you mustn’t bribe Malaysian traffic cops”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)",
          "text": "If you have ever paid or are thinking of paying ‘Coffee Money’ when stopped for traffic or other offences, don’t ever do this again.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity."
      ],
      "id": "en-coffee_money-en-noun-0Rav9TZS",
      "links": [
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "amount",
          "amount"
        ],
        [
          "money",
          "money"
        ],
        [
          "bribe",
          "bribe"
        ],
        [
          "gratuity",
          "gratuity"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Southeast Asia",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Southeast Asia) A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "15 85",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
          "word": "咖啡錢"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "15 85",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "kāfēiqián",
          "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
          "word": "咖啡钱"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "15 85",
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
          "word": "duit kopi"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkɔfi ˌmʌni/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "coffee money"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "en:Corruption"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A euphemism that refers to the amount of money typically enough to buy a cup of coffee.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "coffee money (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "tea money"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Loose change."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Loose change",
          "loose change"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) Loose change."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Southeast Asian English"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1998, Alexandra Kett, Passport Singapore: Your Pocket Guide to Singaporean Business, Customs & Etiquette, page 31",
          "text": "Singapore is free of corruption as any place on earth. (Even small-scale bribery attempts lead to immediate arrest.) Ironically, this has surfaced as a disadvantage for Singaporeans conducting business in other countries - where contacts aren’t always considered binding, bureaucratic inefficiency can make a mockery of time tables, infrastructures can be unreliable, “quality” may be seen as a relative term and “tea money” (known as “coffee money” during Singapore’s British colonial days) is a prerequisite to getting anything done.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 March 31, Alan Wong, “The Stupid Things I Did At The Malaysian Custom”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)",
          "text": "Obviously he was trying to wear out your patience in the hope that you will hand over some undercounter coffee money to him instead of paying for the official tax/fine which does not benefit him at all.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 September 16, Roger Poh, “Driving in Malaysia: Why you mustn’t bribe Malaysian traffic cops”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)",
          "text": "If you have ever paid or are thinking of paying ‘Coffee Money’ when stopped for traffic or other offences, don’t ever do this again.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "amount",
          "amount"
        ],
        [
          "money",
          "money"
        ],
        [
          "bribe",
          "bribe"
        ],
        [
          "gratuity",
          "gratuity"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Southeast Asia",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Southeast Asia) A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkɔfi ˌmʌni/"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
      "word": "咖啡錢"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "kāfēiqián",
      "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
      "word": "咖啡钱"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
      "word": "duit kopi"
    }
  ],
  "word": "coffee money"
}