junket
noun

- a trip taken by an official at public expense

- a trip taken by a person who is the guest of a business or agency seeking favor or patronage

The American Heritage Dictionary

—
WORD ORIGIN

The etymology is somewhat convoluted — please bear with me.

The word “junket” derives from the Medieval Latin juncata, a rush basket for catching or carrying fish, which in turn may derive from the Latin juncus meaning “rush”. Rush is a marsh plant whose stems and leaves are useful for making mats and baskets.

Long ago a type of cream cheese was prepared in baskets made of rushes or reeds, and the cheese took its name from its container. During the Middle Ages in Italy, this cheese was called guincata, a derivative of the Latin juncus.  It was probably from this Italian source that Middle English borrowed ioncate, which later become "junket”. The English word was initially used for cream cheese but later became the name of a dessert made of sweetened curdled milk.

In the 16th century, the meaning of junket shifted to "feast, banquet" perhaps via the notion of a picnic basket. In the 19th century this then led to the extended sense of a pleasure trip and then finally to the specific meaning of a tour by a government official at taxpayer expense and for which there appears to be no discernible public benefit.

—
SWEET SWISS JUNKET

“The Daily Express was hounding Noel Coward," Eric Ambler once recalled. "A reporter kept following him about, asking 'Mr Coward, why are you going to Switzerland?' They were trying to make him say, 'To avoid tax.' On the last day they followed him to the steps of his Montreux flat. Noel turned and simply said,... 'I adore chocolates'."

—
SYNONYMS

banquet, bash, beano, binge, blast, carouse, celebration, cruise, escapade, expedition, excursion, feast, fiesta, fling, frolic, getaway, hop, jaunt, joyride, JUNKET, merrymaking, mushrooming, outing, party, picnic, pleasure trip, revel, shindig, soiree, spree, tour, wingding

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

"Cuts in government spending have made taxpayers sensitive to political JUNKETS.”

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations.

Every month, I spend evening and weekend hours with my family researching and writing your daily OWAD. It remains FREE, AD-free, and ALIVE thanks to voluntary donations from appreciative readers.

If you aren’t already, please also consider supporting us - even the equivalent of a single cup of coffee a month will help us cover mailing, site hosting, and maintenance costs. Just head over to DonorBox:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-5-3

or bank transfer to Paul Smith
IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40
Please use your email-address as ‘Verwendungszweck’

Thank you,
Paul