shinplaster

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

noun

a plaster for the shin or leg.
Informal. (formerly)
1. a piece of paper money of a denomination lower than one dollar.
2. money of little value, as that issued on insufficient security.

Origin of shinplaster

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shinplaster

Historical Examples of shinplaster

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

noun

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

Word Origin for shinplaster

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

Word Origin and History for shinplaster

also shin-plaster, piece of paper soaked in vinegar and used to treat sore legs, from shin (n.) + plaster (n.). In U.S. history, jocularly or as a term of abuse for "devalued low-denomination paper currency" (1824).