pork barrel

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a government appropriation, bill, or policy that supplies funds for local improvements designed to ingratiate legislators with their constituents.

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pork barrel British  

noun

1. slang

   1. a bill or project requiring considerable government spending in a locality to the benefit of the legislator's constituents

   2. ( as modifier )

      pork-barrel spending

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pork barrel Idioms  

1. Government funding of something that benefits a particular district, whose legislator thereby wins favor with local voters. For example, Our senator knows the value of the pork barrel. This expression alludes to the fatness of pork, equated with political largesse since the mid-1800s. [c. 1900]

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Other Word Forms

• pork-barrel adjective
• pork-barreling adjective

Etymology

Origin of pork barrel

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

House of Representatives and Senate, where he became known as “Dr. No” for his unyielding opposition to federal spending and pork barrel largesse, died March 28 at his home in Tulsa.

From Washington Post • Mar. 28, 2020

He was a largely pro-labor Republican who delivered generous servings of pork barrel legislation to his constituents.

From New York Times • Sep. 26, 2017

He survived to become a crusader for campaign finance reform and against pork barrel spending.

From The Guardian • Jun. 17, 2016

They are accused of benefiting from the suspected embezzlement of billions of pesos from the Priority Development Assistance Fund, known as the pork barrel.

From Economist • Jun. 26, 2014

And I bake every Saturday, and Shad brings fish on Friday, and they’s a pork barrel full of meal, and we float eggs in a crock of vinegar...”

From "Sula" by Toni Morrison