Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic)Money which isvoluntarilypaid by a party who feelsguilt, and seeks to providecompensation, for somepastmisdeedornegligence.1865November 23, “From Washington”, inNew York Times, retrieved24 August 2014:The Secretary of the Treasury is almost daily in receipt of installments ofconscience-money, which the perturbed moral sense of a guilty office-holder or other defrauder of the government suggests the payment of in order to obtain "a still and quiet conscience."1918,Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 1, inOh, Money! Money!:"Whatever I've done, I've always been criticized. . . . If I donated to a church, it was calledconscience money; and if I didn't donate to it, they said I was mean and miserly."1994May 3,Richard Dowden, “most-south-africans-will-not-see-newfound-wealth-overnight-says-richard-dowden-1433381.html Big Mac and Coke? Not so fast . . .: Most South Africans will not see new-found wealth overnight”, inThe Independent, UK, retrieved24 August 2014:Other US companies, keen to be seen making the politically correct investment now, are bringing ‘conscience money’ to the new South Africa.2010November 28, Paul Harris, “Tony Blair v Christopher Hitchens: fight the good fight”, inGuardian, UK, retrieved24 August 2014:He described the aid work done by religious missions as "conscience money" to make up for the harm they have done.
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