Tag Archives: a brief history of

A Brief History of…Slush Funds

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The term “Slush Fund” in its modern connotation leaves a dirty taste in most peoples mouths. Common in business and politics, slush funds can have legitimate purposes but are most commonly associated with fallen governments and embarrassed politicians such as Abbott’s secret fund to fight One Nation, the notorious Union political slush funds or even more notorious examples like Nixon’s side hobbies.

The word slush originates as a little bit of onomatopoeia dating back to the mid 17th Century, probably from Swedish “slask” for a damp soggy ground or from the Danish “slus” for sleet. As a side note, on the tree of languages English is damn close to the Germanic and Scandinavian languages (closest relative language being Dutch), hence these are usually the best starting point for any word that does not appear to have Greek or Latin origins.

Slush first appears in English in the 18th century as a reference to the slushy part of animals; the fat. It was almost solely in nautical usage relating to the grease at the bottom of salted meat barrels. The term probably jumped over into English following the naval detente that arose after each of the Anglo-Dutch wars (a somewhat forgotten series of wars during which the English were defeated and sole domain of the Spice Islands was handed to the Dutch.)

It was common practice for the grease at the bottom of these barrels, or the thick layer that rose to the top when boiling, to be saved and sold onshore to candle and soap makers. These sales were treated on a “don’t ask don’t tell” basis by the brass and the proceeds were split between the Officers.

Hence Slush Funds were an off-the-books account used to benefit secret or priority groups, and almost always associated with luxurious purchases. It’s a pretty easy jump to politics. The term first appeared in a political context following the US Civil War. It referred to contingency funds set aside by Congress, outside of the regular budget for special projects and was usually associated with carpet-baggers.

Anecdotally there is usually considered a difference in the legitimacy between Pork-Barrel politics and Slush Funds even though both terms are almost certainly from the same source.

The term “greasing the palm” and its variants are probably also drawn from a reference to slush funds…good to know.

A Brief History of…Caveats

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You’ll have to bear with me on this one and certainly forgive me because there is one long bow I draw within this exercise but now that I’ve given you my caveat lector it’s time to explore the origin of caveats.

The caveat in its most common legal usage exists as Caveat Emptor which literally translates into “buyer beware”. Caveats are most commonly used today as temporary warnings on real property and although they do not necessarily prevent the sale of any real property, good luck obtaining finance if there is a caveat in place, or finding a half-decent lawyer or realtor that feels comfortable telling you to go ahead with the purchase without holding comprehensive professional liability insurance.

Less common usages are Caveat Lector (“Reader Beware”…you’ve been warned), Caveat Venditor (“Seller Beware”) and Cavere ab aliquo, which is definitely out of use but old judgments will still turn out this gem as a verb for “making yourself secure” or to secure bail or a surety.

Cavea first appeared as Latin for “hollow” or “cave”. The obvious evolutions of this are “cavern”, “cavity”, “excavate” and even “grave” as a type of hollow opening. Later the Latins and Romans used it specifically for “eye sockets” and your “palate” and as a root for “theatre seats” (No Idea! Maybe a small opening for an individual in a crowd?!), as well as “birdcage” and “beehive”.

As a side note Cumulus, from the same root, in early Latin was a swelling, heap or opening that built on itself, such as a series of caves, which gives us today the French, became old English origin of “cumulative”. As in “Does your Honour intend to impose the sentences concurrently or cumulatively?”.

Old Norman gaiole, from French jaole, from Latin gabiola, from Late Latin caveola from Early Latin cavea…gives us….“gaol” or “jail” both originating from this word originally meaning an opening. At some stage, or maybe always, an opening included an opening you could be trapped or contained in (hence “birdcage” and “beehive” being literal translations for the Romans).

Further modern “cage” is a short leap from cavea becoming cagea in Old French.

Now this is where I make my jump. At some stage we know that a Caveat evolved to mean a warning, cavea existed as the accusative verb of caveas, which could be to accuse one of being hollow or attempting to trap.

Therefore a Caveat Emptor might also be read as “the buyer should beware of being trapped”.

This may not necessarily help you in practice, but when you come across a Caveat or are imposing one remember that it exists as a temporary warning to a party not to be trapped into something that already exists, like an outstanding liability, personal guarantee, a bankrupt estate or for the sake of neat endings: an actual cave. 

A Brief History of….Pecuniary Losses

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Time for another opportunity for myself to indulge in my amateur history and etymology.

Like all societies that have lasted their time, Roman society started as an agricultural society well before the empire, hedonism and numerous yawns for HSC students.

Every early society has understood value as an intrinsic thing well before there were minted coins with a specific value. The things these societies valued are not difficult to guess; life, family and livestock.

An abundance of livestock meant the survival of your family and community. Groups would fight for and defend their sheep and cows since at least the first domestication of sheep in around 10,000 BC and Cattle in about 8,000 BC. (Corrections are welcome)

Even the word “husband” did not originate as relating to marriage, but simply was a manager of animals. The “husband” was usually married as the head of a successful household. Hence the two became conflated.

That’s the context. Now for the exciting stuff.

Pecuniarius “pertaining to money,” from pecunia “money or wealth,” from pecus meaning “sheep”. In pre-monetary society, the most common form of barter involved sheep or other livestock. Hence in Roman society a pecuniary loss was a loss pertaining to your wealth, or sheep. The term morphed and stuck around and this is certainly where our term pecuniary originates from, but it is not the only example of this.

Further down the rabbit hole? you got it.

Caput is not just a great gangster word, it’s Latin for “head“…and you guessed it, head of cattle. Caput leads to Capitale which becomes anglicised as Catel and retains its reference to the amount of cows to this day. Obviously this became “Cattle” but interestingly the root was retained and “Capital” still exists alongside “Cattle” which evolved from it.

Keep going? all day son.

Fioh is old english and there are plenty of Celtic and other alternatives, but we don’t actually have all day so I’ll be brief. Fioh or Fehu (but that’s more Germanic Saxon) means cows. This evolved into “fee” and hence meant a collection of property. “Fee Simple” was a straight exchange of property for other (absolute ownership); fee simple came to relate specifically to pasture and now it exists in the system as relating to land. A “Fiefdom” became an area of land over which a party had exclusive licence to collect fees.

Sanskit, Gothic, Germanic and basically any society throughout Europe and the Middle East can trace the definitions of money, property or value directly to livestock. I’m sure it’s even more prevalent than these areas, but unfortunately my usefuless expired long ago. (once again, corrections welcome)

Will this information ever come in handy?…Probably not. But understanding the value and meaning of something usually involves understanding its context and importance. Money is the new livestock and losing it still means the same thing to most people that it did 10000 years ago, a loss of ability to provide for their family and community. Money is a very emotional subject and understanding the base human drive behind this is fundamental to understanding the emotions involved behind most litigation.