shinplaster

[ shin-plas-ter, -plah-ster ]

noun
  1. a plaster for the shin or leg.

  2. Informal. (formerly)

    • a piece of paper money of a denomination lower than one dollar.

    • money of little value, as that issued on insufficient security.

Origin of shinplaster

1
An Americanism dating back to 1815–25; shin1 + plaster

Words Nearby shinplaster

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shinplaster in a sentence

  • If evry boddy had a fashun ov their own, it wud make az mutch trubble az a shinplaster kurrensy.

    Josh Billings, Hiz Sayings | Henry Wheeler Shaw
  • The shinplaster was in the shape of a promissory note, made payable on demand.

    Three Years in Europe | William Wells Brown

British Dictionary definitions for shinplaster

shinplaster

/ (ˈʃɪnˌplɑːstə) /


noun
  1. US, Canadian and Australian a promissory note on brittle paper, issued by an individual

Origin of shinplaster

1
C19: so called because of its resemblance to a sticking plaster

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012