cash on the barrelhead

Idioms  

1. Immediate payment, as in They won't extend credit; it's cash on the barrelhead or no sale. The lexicographer Charles Earle Funk surmised that this term originated in the days when upended barrels served as both seats and tables in bars, and customers were required to pay for their drinks immediately, literally putting their money on the top (head) of a barrel.

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Example Sentences

But overseas, the same companies often demand cash on the barrelhead.

From Time Magazine Archive

Jim Penney had a better idea: cash on the barrelhead.

From Time Magazine Archive

Many U.S. businessmen preferred to export products to Iran or to provide services in exchange for cash on the barrelhead.

From Time Magazine Archive

The money would be cash on the barrelhead, said Ratliff, where the Times-Star offered only $1,250,000 down.

From Time Magazine Archive

She paid for the whole thing cash on the barrelhead!

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis