funny money

funny money

1. Counterfeit money. He got arrested for trying to use funny money at a department store.
2. Money that can only be used in a certain place. You can't use that funny money here—it's only good at the school store.
3. Cash in a foreign currency. We need to exchange this funny money before our flight home.
See also: funny, money
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

funny money

 
1. Sl. counterfeit money. The bank teller spotted the funny money in the man's deposit almost immediately.
2. Fig. temporary or substitute money, good only in certain places. What am I going to do with all this funny money when I leave here? It's no good anywhere else.
3. Fig. foreign currency. (Jocular.) We had better buy some gifts and get rid of some of this funny money before our flight.
See also: funny, money
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

funny money

Counterfeit money; also, money from an obscure or questionable source. For example, The police warned storekeepers that some funny money was being passed around town. This expression probably endures because of its rhyme. [1930s]
See also: funny, money
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

funny money

1. n. counterfeit money. The bank teller spotted the funny money in the man’s deposit almost immediately.
2. n. military script; temporary or substitute money, good only in certain places. What am I going to do with all this funny money when I leave here? It’s no good anywhere else.
3. n. foreign currency. (Jocular.) We had better buy some gifts and get rid of some of this funny money before our flight.
See also: funny, money
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

funny money

Peculiar currency, either because it is counterfeit or because it comes from dubious sources. This expression originated in the United States in the 1930s and became popular after World War II, when American tourists began to use it for any foreign currency as well. It is somewhat derogatory, implying that foreign money is not as “real” or has less worth than domestic currency.
See also: funny, money
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • color of someone's money, see the
  • bad money drives out good
  • be caught short
  • be caught/taken short
  • caught short
  • come into (some) money
  • come into money
  • be (right) on the money
  • be burning a hole in (one's) pocket
  • be burning a hole in your pocket
References in periodicals archive
What caused me to cross the sea and race in Ireland - instead of taking myself to Ascot or Bath, which were options - is the pleasant informality, the overall niceness, the warm if understated welcome that is extended to us visitors with the funny accent and the funny money .
FUNNY MONEY: Bankrupt Kerry raises a laugh outside bar on her night out; CREDIT THAT: Kerry and friend in text mode Pictures: EAMONN CLARKE
But BBC chiefs couldn't use real cash, so made their own funny money with Tennant's face on the notes.
It opened with Funny Money, starring Chevy Chase, who was visibly moved by the crowd's response to his return to the silver screen; then guests poured into the Ringling Museum courtyard to dine, sip champagne and rub shoulders with Chase co-star Penelope Ann Miller, Boynton Beach Club's Sally Kellerman and Kiss bad boy Gene Simmons, in town to tape his reality show, The Family Jewels.
"They ignore or add back what they call 'funny money'--items like minimum pension liabilities that have no immediate impact on cash flows," he adds.
Once the funny money was gone, so too were the celebrity journalists.
Finally, there is an increase--or even explosion--of funny money. Bonds and Treasury bills are funny money from the perspective of traditional economists because they act as money with liabilities for taxpayers to pay later.
In addition, I enjoyed reading the article about the business of comedians ["funny Money," December 2004].
In Falls Creek, Pa., the Secret Service could find funny money passing around.
That's when the Secret Service got involved and seized the remaining funny money. The teen who presented the project was "just being a child and not thinking," Headmaster Billy Pritchett told the Mobile Register.
$35, includes food, wine, $250 in "funny money" and a tour of the Broncos' locker room.
Perhaps the most successful Memphis chapter program is IREM Bucks, in which members are awarded with funny money dollars for participation in everything from attendance at a national meeting to donating their time at the chapter's annual golf outing.
Kopper was "gay"; instead, it merely referred to his "domestic partner," William Dodson, as a recipient of funds from some phony subsidiary, a player in the flow chart of funny money that was the Enron Corporation.
In return for clicks, users earn fanimanis (a pun on "funny money"), a virtual online currency that can be exchanged for real-world products and services from affiliated companies like video rental chain Blockbuster, LanChile, Pizza Hut and hardware and home supplies store Sodimac Homecenter.
The 30-second radio advert, costing Jory GBP11,000, promotes his recently published book 'Funny Money'.