cook the books
idiom

- to change numbers dishonestly in the accounts (= financial records) of an organization, especially in order to steal money from it

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

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ORIGIN

The word “cook” (one whose occupation is the preparing and cooking of food) derives from the Old English “coc”, from Latin “coquere“ to cook, prepare food, ripen, digest, turn over in the mind.

Its connection to financial crime goes at least as far back as the 18th century:

“Some falsified printed accounts, artfully cooked up, on purpose to mislead and deceive.” from Tobias Smollett’s The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, 1751.

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COOK UP YOUR ENGLISH

- too many cooks (spoil the broth / stew / soup) = too many people trying to control, influence, or work on something, with the quality of the final product suffering as a result (“I’m thinking ‘too many cooks…’ - we really should reduce the size of the project team.”)

- cook somebody’s goose = to interfere with, disrupt, or ruin something for someone (“News of Jim’s involvement in the scandal will cook his goose for sure.”)

- chief cook and bottle washer = a person in charge of numerous duties, both vital and trivial (“As the founder has no funding for staff he has to be chief cook and bottlewasher.”)

- Now you’re cooking! = said when fast and significant progress is being made (“Adjusting those parts made all the difference. Look how fast it goes! Now we’re cooking!”)

- What’s cooking? = What’s going on? What’s happening? What’s new? How have you been doing? (“Hi Jim, we haven’t spoken for some time. What’s cooking?)

- a tough cookie = a strong, determined person who is not easily intimidated, discouraged, or defeated (“Don’t underestimate Abigail, behind that nice smile is one tough cookie.”)

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SYNONYMS

conning, COOKING BOOKS, cheating, defrauding, dipping into the public purse, expropriating, filching, fingering, having sticky fingers, knocking off, palming, pocketing, purloining, putting hand in cookie jar, skimming, siphoning off, snitching, swindling, trousering

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PRACTICE OWAD in an English conversation, say something like:

“He was fired for COOKING THE BOOKS.”

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Paul Smith