Idiom – Hush Money

Hush Money – Idiom of the Day

Meaning:

Money offered to hide/cover illegal activities.

History:

History dates back to the early 17th century. The idiom was first used in 1709 by Sir Richard Steele, an Irish playwright and politician. There is evidence that he used the idiom in his publication called The Tatler. The word Hush can be traced to Middle English origins where the word husht means silent. There are also references to the idiom being used recently in news editions in 2018.

Idiom scenarios:

Scenario 1:

Friend 1: Did you hear the news? The new party has won with a thumping majority.

Friend 2: How did they manage to win? They did not campaign well.

Friend 1: Oh! God! They paid hush money to the public. 

Friend 2: Oh! I see. 

Scenario 2:

Jack :  How did Olivia manage to acquire a role in the play? She has poor acting skills. 

Jane : She paid hush money to the director of the play. 

Scenario 3:

Secretary: The new cyclone has shattered the place. I want the reports as to why it was not detected earlier?

Assistant: I did investigate mam.

Secretary: So what happened?

Assistant: The meteorological department was paid hush money by our allies to remain silent on the issue.

Secretary: I’m going to take serious action on those found guilty.

Examples:

Go through the examples  to understand the usage of the idiom:

1.The collector was offered hush money by the business man to permit him to construct buildings on wetlands. 

2.The judge was found guilty of having accepted hush money in this case. 

3. The witness was offered hush money to lie in the court.