Greenbacks

/ˈɡrinˌbæks/ noun

Definition

Paper money, especially U.S. dollar bills; cash.

Etymology

From the green ink printed on the back of U.S. paper currency starting in the 1860s. The term 'greenback' became slang for American money because of this distinctive feature.

Kelly Says

The U.S. printed green ink on the back of paper money for a practical reason—it was cheap, durable, and hard to counterfeit—but the side effect was accidentally creating one of the best slang terms for money in any language!

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