buckshee

/'bʌkʃi:/

Thân thiện

They received a buckshee dessert with their meal.

Definition

Adjective & Adverb (informal, chiefly British): 1. Free of charge; obtained without payment. - This is the primary meaning, describing something given or received at no cost. 2. Extra; additional; beyond the usual allowance or ration. - A secondary meaning, often used in military or institutional contexts to describe something provided as a bonus or surplus.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective:
  • The soldiers enjoyed a buckshee cup of tea from the mobile canteen. (The tea was free.)
  • He got a buckshee ticket to the concert from a friend who couldn't go.
• Adverb:
  • They were handing out samples buckshee at the market entrance. (They were giving them away free.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is informal and has its origins in military slang, a corruption of the Hindi word "baksheesh" (meaning a tip or gratuity), but with the meaning reversed to indicate something free rather than a payment.
• It often carries a connotation of an unexpected or unofficial bonus, something extra to the norm.
  • During the exercise, we were issued buckshee rations of chocolate.

Variants and Related Words

• Baksheesh (noun): A tip, gratuity, or small bribe, especially in parts of Asia and the Middle East. This is the original word from which "buckshee" is derived.

Synonyms

• Free (adj): Without cost or payment.
• Complimentary (adj): Given free, often as a courtesy.
• Gratis (adv & adj): Without charge; free. (More formal than buckshee)
• On the house (idiom): Provided free by the establishment.

Antonyms

• Chargeable (adj): Subject to a payment.
• Paid (adj): Involving a payment.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• For free: An informal phrase meaning without charge.
  • We got all this furniture for free when our neighbors moved.
• A freebie (noun): An informal term for an item given free of charge. This is a close conceptual synonym to something described as "buckshee."
  • The tote bag was a freebie with the magazine subscription.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. free of charge
   • if they deposit these shares in the scheme they will get further buckshee shares on a one-for-one basis- Economist