buckshee
/'bʌkʃi:/
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.
Adjective
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free of charge
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if they deposit these shares in the scheme they will get further buckshee shares on a one-for-one basis- Economist
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