windfall

windfall
   a bribe
   Fruit which fell to the ground used to be given to whomsoever wished to gather it. Thus a windfall was something of value for which you did not have to pay, including a legacy or other unexpected benefit:
    The cop and those higher up share in the windfall. (Lavine, 1930 — describing bribery, not apples)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • Windfall II — is a horse that has competed internationally in the equestrian sport of eventing. *Foaled: 1992 *Sex: Stallion *Color: Black *Markings: none *Height: 16.3 hh (170cm) *Breed: Registered Trakehner *Breeding: by Habicht, out of Wundermaedel by… …   Wikipedia

  • Windfall — could refer to:* A windfall gain * Windfall (1935 film), a 1935 film with Googie Withers * Windfall (film), a 1955 comedy film with Lionel Jeffries * Windfall (album), an album by Rick Nelson * Windfall II, a horse * Windfall (comics), a DC… …   Wikipedia

  • windfall — wind‧fall [ˈwɪndfɔːl ǁ fɒːl] noun [countable] FINANCE an amount of money that a person or business gets unexpectedly: • Falling interest rates are a windfall for homeowners refinancing their mortgages. • The group earned a windfall profit on the… …   Financial and business terms

  • Windfall — Wind fall , n. 1. Anything blown down or off by the wind, as fruit from a tree, or the tree itself, or a portion of a forest prostrated by a violent wind, etc. They became a windfall upon the sudden. Bacon. [1913 Webster] 2. An unexpected legacy …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Windfall — Windfall, s.u. Windbruch …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Windfall — Windfall, s. Windbruch …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • windfall — index profit Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • windfall — (n.) mid 15c., from WIND (Cf. wind) (n.) + FALL (Cf. fall) (n.1). Originally literal, in reference to wood or fruit blown down by the wind, and thus free to all. Figurative sense of unexpected acquisition is recorded from 1540s …   Etymology dictionary

  • windfall — [n] jackpot, profit bonanza, bonus, find, fortune, gift from the gods*, godsend, gravy*, lucky find, money from heaven*, pennies from heaven*, stroke of luck; concepts 337,679 …   New thesaurus

  • windfall — ► NOUN 1) an apple or other fruit blown from a tree by the wind. 2) a piece of unexpected good fortune, especially a legacy …   English terms dictionary

  • windfall — [wind′fôl΄] n. 1. something blown down by the wind, as fruit from a tree 2. any unexpected acquisition, gain, or stroke of good luck …   English World dictionary

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