cook the books, Slang. to manipulate the financial records of a company, organization, etc., so as to conceal profits, avoid taxes, or present a false financial report to stockholders.
Origin of cook
1
before 1000; (noun) Middle Englishcok(e), Old Englishcōc (compare Old Norsekokkr,GermanKoch,Dutchkok) < Latincocus, coquus, derivative of coquere to cook; akin to Greekpéptein (see peptic); (v.) late Middle Englishcoken, derivative of the noun
Related formscook·a·ble, adjectivecook·less, adjectiveun·cook·a·ble, adjective
to prepare (food) by the action of heat, as by boiling, baking, etc, or (of food) to become ready for eating through such a processRelated adjective: culinary
to subject or be subjected to the action of intense heatthe town cooked in the sun
(tr)slangto alter or falsify (something, esp figures, accounts, etc)to cook the books
(tr)slangto spoil or ruin (something)
(intr)slangto happen (esp in the phrase what's cooking?)
(tr)slangto prepare (any of several drugs) by heating
(intr)musicslangto play vigorouslythe band was cooking
cook someone's gooseinformal
to spoil a person's plans
to bring about someone's ruin, downfall, etc
noun
a person who prepares food for eating, esp as an occupation
Old English cōc (n), from Latin coquus a cook, from coquere to cook
Cook
1
nounMount Cook
a mountain in New Zealand, in the South Island, in the Southern Alps: the highest peak in New Zealand. Height: reduced in 1991 by a rockfall from 3764 m (12 349 ft) to 3754 m (12 316 ft)Official name: Aoraki-Mount Cook
a mountain in SE Alaska, in the St Elias Mountains. Height: 4194 m (13 760 ft)
Cook
2
noun
Captain James . 1728–79, British navigator and explorer: claimed the E coast of Australia for Britain, circumnavigated New Zealand, and discovered several Pacific and Atlantic islands (1768–79)
Sir Joseph. 1860–1947, Australian statesman, born in England: prime minister of Australia (1913–14)
Peter (Edward). 1937–95, British comedy actor and writer, noted esp for his partnership (1960–73) with Dudley Moore
Robin, full name Robert Finlayson Cook . 1946–2005, British Labour politician; foreign secretary (1997–2001), Leader of the House (2001-2003)
Thomas. 1808–92, British travel agent; innovator of conducted excursions and founder of the travel agents Thomas Cook and Son
Old English coc, from Vulgar Latin cocus "cook," from Latin coquus, from coquere "to cook, prepare food, ripen, digest, turn over in the mind" from PIE root *pekw- "to cook" (cf. Oscan popina "kitchen," Sanskrit pakvah "cooked," Greek peptein, Lithuanian kepti "to bake, roast," Old Church Slavonic pecenu "roasted," Welsh poeth "cooked, baked, hot"). Germanic languages had no one native term for all types of cooking, and borrowed the Latin word (Old Saxon kok, Old High German choh, German Koch, Swedish kock).
There is the proverb, the more cooks the worse potage. [Gascoigne, 1575]
cook
v.
late 14c., from cook (n.); the figurative sense of "to manipulate, falsify, doctor" is from 1630s. Related: Cooked, cooking. To cook with gas is 1930s jive talk.
Falsify a company's financial records, as in An independent audit showed that they've been cooking the books for years. This slangy phrase was first recorded in 1636.
