pin money

noun

1. any small sum set aside for nonessential minor expenditures.
2. (formerly) an allowance of money given by a husband to his wife for her personal expenditures.

pin money

noun

1. an allowance by a husband to his wife for personal expenditure
2. money saved or earned to be used for incidental expenses

Other Words From

• pin-money adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pin money¹

First recorded in 1535–45

Idioms and Phrases

Small amounts of money for incidental expenses, as in Grandma usually gives the children some pin money whenever she visits . This expression originally signified money given by a husband to his wife for small personal expenditures such as pins, which were very costly items in centuries past. A will recorded at York in 1542 listed a bequest: “I give my said daughter Margarett my lease of the parsonage . . . to buy her pins.” [Early 1500s]

Example Sentences

Jobs in retail and hospitality, for example, were considered “women’s jobs” for “pin money,” Lichtenstein said.

From Vox

This we suppose to have been the last argument used against offenders whose wages or whose pin-money had been sworn away.

From Project Gutenberg

Take it all in—and I reckon this is all—we'll be in luck to pinch a little pin-money out of the estate for Sylvia.

From Project Gutenberg

He allows you liberally for pin-money in addition to your own small independent income.

From Project Gutenberg

He has been taught economy; he is, like me, naturally of a very generous turn; he will occasionally offer you pin-money.

From Project Gutenberg

A very nice little sum for pin money, but quite useless for our purposes.

From Project Gutenberg