"coffee money" meaning in English

See coffee money in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈkɔfi ˌmʌni/
Etymology: A euphemism that refers to the amount of money typically enough to buy a cup of coffee. The Southeast Asian sense is a calque of Malay duit kopi. Etymology templates: {{calque|en|ms|duit kopi|nocap=1}} calque of Malay duit kopi Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} coffee money (uncountable)
  1. (slang) Loose change. Tags: slang, uncountable Categories (topical): Corruption Related terms: tea money
    Sense id: en-coffee_money-en-noun-F4mfFSVI Disambiguation of Corruption: 53 47 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Hokkien translations, Terms with Malay translations, Terms with Mandarin translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 88 12 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 76 24 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 89 11 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 90 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Hokkien translations: 59 41 Disambiguation of Terms with Malay translations: 79 21 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 80 20
  2. (Southeast Asia, idiomatic, politics) A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity. Tags: idiomatic, uncountable Categories (topical): Politics, Corruption Translations (euphemism for small bribe): 咖啡鐳 /咖啡镭 (ko-pi-lui) [Hokkien] (Chinese), 咖啡錢 /咖啡钱 (kāfēiqián) (Chinese Mandarin), duit kopi (Malay)
    Sense id: en-coffee_money-en-noun-0Rav9TZS Disambiguation of Corruption: 53 47 Categories (other): Southeast Asian English Topics: government, politics Disambiguation of 'euphemism for small bribe': 19 81
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ms",
        "3": "duit kopi",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "calque of Malay duit kopi",
      "name": "calque"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A euphemism that refers to the amount of money typically enough to buy a cup of coffee. The Southeast Asian sense is a calque of Malay duit kopi.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "coffee money (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "88 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "76 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "89 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "90 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "59 41",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hokkien translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Malay translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "80 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "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"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Politics",
          "orig": "en:Politics",
          "parents": [
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "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": "quote"
        },
        {
          "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": "quote"
        },
        {
          "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": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity."
      ],
      "id": "en-coffee_money-en-noun-0Rav9TZS",
      "links": [
        [
          "politics",
          "politics"
        ],
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "amount",
          "amount"
        ],
        [
          "money",
          "money"
        ],
        [
          "bribe",
          "bribe"
        ],
        [
          "gratuity",
          "gratuity"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Southeast Asia",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Southeast Asia, idiomatic, politics) A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "politics"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "19 81",
          "code": "nan-hbl",
          "lang": "Chinese",
          "roman": "ko-pi-lui",
          "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
          "tags": [
            "Hokkien"
          ],
          "word": "咖啡鐳 /咖啡镭"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "19 81",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "kāfēiqián",
          "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
          "word": "咖啡錢 /咖啡钱"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "19 81",
          "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 calqued from Malay",
    "English terms derived from Malay",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Hokkien translations",
    "Terms with Malay translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "en:Corruption"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ms",
        "3": "duit kopi",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "calque of Malay duit kopi",
      "name": "calque"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A euphemism that refers to the amount of money typically enough to buy a cup of coffee. The Southeast Asian sense is a calque of Malay duit kopi.",
  "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 idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Southeast Asian English",
        "en:Politics"
      ],
      "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": "quote"
        },
        {
          "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": "quote"
        },
        {
          "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": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "politics",
          "politics"
        ],
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "amount",
          "amount"
        ],
        [
          "money",
          "money"
        ],
        [
          "bribe",
          "bribe"
        ],
        [
          "gratuity",
          "gratuity"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Southeast Asia",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Southeast Asia, idiomatic, politics) A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "politics"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkɔfi ˌmʌni/"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nan-hbl",
      "lang": "Chinese",
      "roman": "ko-pi-lui",
      "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
      "tags": [
        "Hokkien"
      ],
      "word": "咖啡鐳 /咖啡镭"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "kāfēiqián",
      "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
      "word": "咖啡錢 /咖啡钱"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "euphemism for small bribe",
      "word": "duit kopi"
    }
  ],
  "word": "coffee money"
}

Download raw JSONL data for coffee money meaning in English (3.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (f889f65 and 8fbd9e8). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.