Definition

Verb: 1. To save or set aside for future use: To accumulate and keep money or resources, typically in a careful or secretive manner, for later needs or opportunities.

Usage

This verb is a phrasal verb meaning to save money or store something valuable for the future. It often implies a deliberate, sometimes secretive, act of putting something aside over time. It is commonly used in informal contexts.

Examples

• She managed to salt away a small fortune by living frugally.
• He's been salting away part of his salary every month for his children's education.
• It's wise to salt away some emergency funds.

Advanced Usage

• The phrasal verb is separable. The object (e.g., 'money', 'savings') can be placed between 'salt' and 'away' or after 'away'.
  • He salts his bonuses away in a separate account.
  • He salts away his bonuses in a separate account.
• It often carries a connotation of prudent, long-term planning or discreet saving, sometimes to avoid spending or taxation.

Variants and Related Words

• Salt (verb, in this context): As the base verb in this phrasal construction, it carries the specific meaning of preserving or saving, analogous to using salt to preserve food.
• Salted away (adjective phrase): Describes money or resources that have been saved.
  • He has a tidy sum salted away for retirement.

Synonyms

• Save up: To accumulate money by setting it aside.
• Stash away: To store something safely and secretly.
• Put aside: To reserve something for a particular purpose.
• Squirrel away: To hide or store something, especially money, for future use (implies more secrecy or hoarding).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Put away: To save money for future use (less secretive connotation than 'salt away').
  • She puts away $200 from every paycheck.
• Lay aside: To save something, especially money, for a future purpose.
  • They are laying aside funds for a new home.

Related Idioms

• For a rainy day: This idiom describes the purpose of "salting away" money—saving it for a time of future need or emergency.
  • She salts her money away for a rainy day.

Verb

1. keep or lay aside for future use
   • store grain for the winter
   • The bear stores fat for the period of hibernation when he doesn't eat