Everyday Business Terms and the Meanings Behind Them Our Managing Director, John O’Mahony, takes a keen interest in etymology; the history of words and their origins. We thought that we would give you a light hearted break with some business terms that you may use and their origins. Slush Fund – An Amount of Money That is Kept Secretly for Illegal or Dishonest Purposes This is a nautical slang term.  On ships when pork was cooked, waste fat was produced and stored in large quantities until the ship docked. This fat was called slush. After months at sea this may have accumulated to be hundreds of pound’s worth of slush. When the voyage ended, this slush was sold to buy extras for the crew. The name slush fund was then referred to as an amount of money that is kept secretly for illegal or dishonest purposes. Ball Park Estimate This is a term that stems from the United States of America and the game of baseball. The game used to be played in an open air venue during daylight hours and local press were always keen to find out how many people had attended the match. It was very difficult to get an exact headcount and managers and owners were not forthcoming with the information. It became practice to give a very broad estimate of the attendees and this is where the term ballpark estimate comes from. Selling Like Hot Cakes Hot cakes were a fluffy delicacy very popular in the United States of America in the nineteenth century. They were similar to a pancake and made out of corn or maize.  They were so popular that cooks found it hard to keep up with the demand. By 1825 anything that moved in a hurry was described as “selling like hot cakes”. To Purchase Before shops and stores existed, merchants occupied small booths with no windows or display cabinets. This meant that if you wanted a specific commodity you had to go out and hunt through all the booths for it. Many difficulties were encountered and the process of searching became linked with buying. From an Old French term meaning “seeking ardently” it was called purchasing. Now, instead of referring to the act of searching, it refers to money being passed from the hands of the purchaser to the hands of the seller. Deadline Deadline is another saying that emanates from the United States of America. Originally the deadline was a white line painted around the perimeter of Andersonville prisoner of war camp and if any prisoner crossed it they were shot dead without any questions asked. The phrase was then taken up by the newspaper industry. If a story missed a publication it could no longer be used and was considered dead, hence deadline. Giving the Sack Tradesmen used to carry their tools around in a sack before the invention of the toolbox. The saying “to be given the sack” would literally mean the worker collecting his tools, putting them in his sack and going home or on to his next job. Fired To be “fired” derives from miners saying “firing the tools”. If miners were caught stealing coal then they would have their tools burned in front of the other workers as punishment   We are a team of Profit Consultants and Chartered Accountants who work with you to help ensure your success and fulfil your potential. Send our team an email at [email protected] or call 01628 623444 to see how we can help you.   S4B Team