Meaning of coffee money | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Loose change.
   slang, uncountable
2. A small amount of money given as a bribe or gratuity.
   Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, idiomatic, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“Singapore is free of corruption as any place⟳ on earth. (Even small-scale bribery attempts lead⟳ to immediate arrest.) Ironically, this has surfaced as a disadvantage for Singaporeans conducting business in other countries - where contacts aren’t always considered binding, bureaucratic inefficiency can make⟳ a mockery of time tables, infrastructures can be unreliable, “quality” may be seen as a relative term and “tea money” (known as “coffee money” during Singapore’s British colonial days) is a prerequisite to getting anything done.”

“Obviously he was trying to wear⟳ out your patience in the hope⟳ that you will hand over some undercounter coffee money to him instead of paying for the official tax/fine which does not benefit him at all.”

“If you have⟳ ever paid or are thinking of paying ‘Coffee Money’ when stopped for traffic or other offences, don’t ever do this again.”

CEFR level