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pork barrel

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pork barrel

  (American informal)

the action by a government of spending money in an area in order to make themselves more popular with the people there He was critical of these new, expensive job programs as just a form of pork barrel. (American informal)

See also: barrel, pork

pork barrel

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]

See also: barrel, pork