Pork Barrel (Noun)
Meaning
A legislative appropriation designed to ingratiate legislators with their constituents.
Classification
Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession.
Examples
- The construction of a new highway was a clear pork barrel project, benefiting only a select few in the politician's home district.
- Critics argued that the funding for the local stadium was a pork barrel scheme to curry favor with voters.
- The congressman was accused of using the military base expansion as a pork barrel project to bolster his re-election chances.
- Environmentalists complained that the appropriation for the new dam was a pork barrel handout to special interest groups.
- Reformers sought to eliminate pork barrel spending, such as the earmark for the extravagant fountain in the small town.