shinplaster
Noun: 1. A piece of paper money of little value, especially one issued on insufficient security or during a period of inflation. Historically, it referred to low-denomination, often depreciated, banknotes. 2. (Historical, chiefly US & Canada) A small-denomination promissory note or currency note, often issued by private entities like merchants or banks, which could become worthless if the issuer failed.
The term is historical and is used to describe worthless or nearly worthless paper currency. It often carries a connotation of distrust or financial instability. * After the war, the economy was in shambles, and people were paid in nearly worthless shinplasters. * The merchant issued his own shinplasters as change, but no other store would accept them.
- As a metaphor for something worthless: The word can be used figuratively to describe any promise, document, or item that has no real value or credibility.
- His contract turned out to be a shinplaster—full of empty promises and no guarantees.
- Shin plaster (alternative spelling): An older, sometimes hyphenated ("shin-plaster") form of the same term.
- Scrip: A temporary certificate or document representing a fractional share or a promise to pay.
- Fiat money: Currency that a government has declared to be legal tender but is not backed by a physical commodity.
- Worthless note: A direct descriptive synonym.
- Not worth a shinplaster: An idiom meaning completely worthless.
- After the company collapsed, its stock certificates were not worth a shinplaster.
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paper money of little value issued on insufficient security
