filthy lucre

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filthy lucre

Money, in the sense of being a product or source of greed. The phrase is Biblical in origin, and the word "lucre" comes from the Latin word lucrum, meaning "profit." She's always worked to better her community, without caring a bit about the filthy lucre she could make in a different field. Of course that man stole from his clients—he's always been driven by a passion for filthy lucre. If you make filthy lucre the focus of your life, you might get rich, but you probably won't find happiness.
See also: filthy
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

filthy lucre

money. I sure could use a little of that filthy lucre. I don't want to touch any of your filthy lucre.
See also: filthy
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

filthy lucre

Money; originally, money obtained dishonestly. For example, She didn't like the job but loved the filthy lucre in the form of her weekly paycheck. This term comes from the Bible (Titus 1:11), where it refers to those who teach wrongly for the sake of money. In time it came to be used loosely, and usually jokingly, for money in general, and in the mid-1900s gave rise to the jocular slang term the filthy for "money." Although both versions may be dying out, the expression filthy rich, for "extremely wealthy," survives.
See also: filthy
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

filthy lucre

(...ˈlukɚ)
n. money. I sure could use a little of that filthy lucre.
See also: filthy
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

filthy lucre

Money acquired by dishonorable means. The term comes from St. Paul’s Epistle to Titus (1:11), in which he criticizes those who teach things which they ought not “for filthy lucre’s sake.” Later the term came to be used ironically for money in general, even if it had been honestly earned. Perhaps scruples have changed, for the term is heard less often today.
See also: filthy
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive ?
Who cares about watching him sweatily prostrating himself in front of some stone-faced gazillionaires in the vain hope of being thrown one of their spare wads of filthy lucre? Well, we do for a start.
This joint venture includes a working interest in an oil and natural gas well as well as Petro Lucre LLC's re-completion project in Central Texas.
To change the culture of our national game to the point where a real football man like Blues boss Alex McLeish would swap Wembley glory for filthy lucre is among his most noteworthy.
UK-based public relations agency Lucre has been ap- pointed by Dubai-based hotel group Jebel Ali International Hotels to deliver PR across UK and Ireland consumer and trade media.
But when a gallery owner offers Manchester big bucks for his raunchy Polaroids, their relationship is put to the test as he chooses between dirty love and filthy lucre.
He said the group is motivated by lust for lucre, whether in dollar or in euro.
THE lure of the lucre is proving irresistible for youngsters, some of whom are resorting to crime to fulfil their needs.
It leaves behind those who have not first read The Diamond Cutter, and it fails to address the obvious fact that one rarely sees Buddhist monks in Armani, so what exactly is the point of applying their teachings to the pursuit of filthy lucre? All I know is that I got a head full of contradictory notions while reading Karmic Management.
And those colours are green, green and green - as in filthy lucre.
As it turned out, the ads were right in a way, and millions have found the technology an element of their precious muse, at least that portion that concerns lucre. Artist and writer Rowley is well aware that talent may or may not blossom digitally, but markets will, and gives craftspeople, musicians, photographers and artists step-by-step instructions on creating market identities for themselves and their products, building a web site, establishing a presence in the market, attracting visitors, building links, outsourcing writing, getting your web site into search engines and directories, using business software, marketing through email and newsletters, packing and using auction systems.
WARREN GATLAND does not believe Shaun Edwards would put lucre before loyalty and turn his back on Wales' Grand Slam team to take a job with England.
An industry that was once the province of failed congressmen is growing so fast that superstar senators throw away their leadership positions for the lucre lobbying affords.
It's not the first time that the Ossies, as former East Germans are called, have parlayed their communist heritage into capitalist lucre. In 2004 the cash-strapped town of Tutow created Germany's first-ever communist theme park, "complete with a Berlin Wall and Kalashnikovtoting border guards," The Daily Telegraph reported.