pork-barrelling
noun phrase

- A political practice where legislators secure government funds for localized projects in their home districts, often added to larger bills, to benefit their constituents and gain political support. These projects may have little relevance to the broader legislation and are criticized for inflating costs and prioritizing partisan or local interests over national needs.

Investopedia

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The term "pork-barrelling" originates from the earlier phrase "pork barrel," which has its roots in American English.

A "pork barrel" originally referred to a wooden barrel used to store salted pork. The earliest known use of the noun "pork barrel" dates back to the early 1700s.

The phrase began to take on a metaphorical meaning. In 1863, it was used in Edward Everett Hale's story "The Children of the Public" to describe public spending. Around this time, "pork barrel" came to mean the spending of public funds by a politician to benefit a small group of people in exchange for their support.

The term "pork-barrelling" as a noun first appeared in the 1910s. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest evidence for "pork-barrelling" is from 1910 in the Indianapolis Star.

The metaphor may have been inspired by the distribution of salt pork rations to slaves on plantations. As described by C.C. Maxey in 1919, the eagerness of slaves rushing to get pork from the barrel was likened to the behavior of Congress members scrambling to secure local appropriations in omnibus bills.

Over time, "pork-barrelling" has come to specifically refer to the practice of politicians including funding for local projects in larger appropriations bills, often to gain political support in their home district.

This form became especially common in Australian and British political commentary in the late 20th century, expanding its usage globally.

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ROLLING THROUGH HISTORY
How the Wooden Barrel Transformed Global Trade and Travel

Before the container ship and the steel drum, barrels revolutionized how humans stored, preserved, and transported the essentials of life—grains, fish, wine, beer, and gunpowder. Developed over 2,000 years ago by Celtic tribes in Europe, the wooden barrel was a marvel of functional design. Coopers, the master craftsmen who built these barrels, bent oak staves with fire and water, binding them tightly with iron hoops—all without a single nail or drop of glue. Their barrels were not merely containers; they prevented rot and leakage.

Barrels proved superior to their ceramic predecessors, being more durable and easier to transport. Their unique shape, featuring a bulge in the middle, allowed for easy rolling and maneuvering. As trade routes expanded, so did the use of barrels for storing and transporting a wide variety of goods. By the 19th century, barrels were so watertight they could survive a shipwreck and float ashore with their contents intact.

Perhaps the most significant impact of wooden barrels has been on the world of alcoholic beverages. The interaction between wood and liquid during aging imparts unique flavours and characteristics to beer, wines and spirits, with up to 50% of a whiskey's flavour coming from the barrel itself.

In our age of synthetic materials and mass production, the wooden barrel remains a reminder that sometimes the old ways aren't just romantic—they're simply better.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS
for “self-interest”

advantage-seeking, benefit-seeking, call of the wallet, concern for oneself (own welfare), cupidity, cutthroat drive, desire, every man for himself, eye on the prize, feathering one's nest,  gasconade, graspingness, greed, greediness, grinding one's own axe, head in the trough, looking after number one, looking out for number one, me first, (attitude, mentality), meism, out for oneself, personal/private advantage (agenda, benefit, gain, interest), protecting one's own hide (turf), pursuit of advantage (of gain), putting oneself first, SELF-INTEREST, self-advancement (-aggrandizement, -centredness, -concern, -gain, -gratification, -interest, -promotion, -regard, -seeking, -serving), selfishness, serving one's own ends, vainglory, what's in it for me

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“PORK BARRELLING is the art of turning taxpayer dollars into reelection votes.

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