cookie jar

American  

noun

1. a jar or other container for storing cookies.

2. such a container used for storing money.

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idioms

1. have one's hand in the cookie jar, to take or attempt to take advantage of one's position by demanding or accepting favors or bribes.

   They suspected the mayor's assistant had his hand in the cookie jar.

Etymology

Origin of cookie jar

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45

Example Sentences

Ran economic blockades and encouraged American companies to treat the region’s riches, and its workers, like a cookie jar.

From Los Angeles Times

“It was like someone was stealing money from the cookie jar and they kept refilling it.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Tano almost visibly deflates, as if he’s been caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

From Literature

“People got caught with their hands in the cookie jar,” he said in September 2020 on Facebook Live.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s sort of like a cookie jar — the bigger it is, the more cookies it can store.

From Los Angeles Times