filthy lucre

American  

noun

1. money.

   to lose one's health for the sake of filthy lucre.

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filthy lucre Idioms  

1. Money; originally, money obtained dishonestly. For example, She didn't like the job but loved the filthy lucre in the form of her weekly paycheck. This term comes from the Bible (Titus 1:11), where it refers to those who teach wrongly for the sake of money. In time it came to be used loosely, and usually jokingly, for money in general, and in the mid-1900s gave rise to the jocular slang term the filthy for “money.” Although both versions may be dying out, the expression filthy rich, for “extremely wealthy,” survives.

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Etymology

Origin of filthy lucre

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

But much of the filthy lucre given by foreign powers came in the currency of affirmed vanity.

From Washington Post • Aug. 5, 2021

There are still a few idealists out there cherishing the belief that writing, as art, mustn’t be contaminated by filthy lucre.

From Slate • Jan. 10, 2017

Indeed, Keating’s shift from opposing filth to filthy lucre was quickly reflected in CDL’s operating budget, almost 90 percent of which went into administration and further fundraising, rather than actual activism against smut.

From Salon • Apr. 13, 2014

Those looking for more of a party atmosphere could find it at Mary Boone, where Barbara Kruger’s huge wall texts shouted “Money makes money” and other turns of phrase on the topic of filthy lucre.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2011

Then she tried a child’s story, which she could easily have disposed of if she had not been mercenary enough to demand filthy lucre for it.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott