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sweeten the kitty

To raise the stakes, as in a game of poker, where the pot is called the kitty: “Before you decide which job offer to accept, perhaps we can offer you a few added fringe benefits to sweeten the kitty.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Related Words for sweeten the kitty

reward, grant, distribute, confer, bestow, allot, donate, assign, present, allocate, provide, subsidize, supply, devote, give, share, add, commit, accord, apportion
Idioms and Phrases with sweeten the kitty

sweeten the kitty

Also, sweeten the pot or deal. Make something financially more attractive, as in I am unable to give you the new title but I could sweeten the kitty a little by giving you a raise. This idiom comes from card games such as poker, where it means “add money to the pool,” and uses sweeten in the sense of “make more agreeable.” [Slang; c. 1900]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.