Money or benefits given secretly or illegally to someone in return for help, often in a dishonest deal.
From 'kick back,' meaning to spring back or recoil. The term evolved from the 1920s to describe money returned illegally, as if it 'kicked back' to the person doing the favor.
Kickbacks became famous as a way to describe corruption—the term perfectly captures how money quietly bounces back to someone who helped orchestrate a deal, which is why it's been used in crime stories and investigations for a century.
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