Meaning of cash on the barrelhead | Babel Free

Definitions

Money in the form of paper currency or coins, paid immediately at the time and place of a transaction: cash only (no credit), and at the point of sale.

US, idiomatic, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“"[W]e're selling, to the highest bidder, and for cash on the barrel head. . . . Cash in hand, no checks accepted."”

“[I]n 1946 the U.S. exported $2,166 million worth of food. . . . Most of this ($1,354 million) was paid for, cash on the barrelhead. But $628 million was the U.S. contribution to UNRRA stocks, and $184 million went through Lend-Lease.”

“In return for support of an Iraq invasion, Turkey wanted—and got—immediate aid, cash on the barrelhead, rather than mere assurances about future help.”

CEFR level