Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
bakshish .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun In Egypt and the Turkish empire, a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter); a gratuity; a “tip”.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative spelling of
baksheesh . - verb Alternative spelling of
baksheesh .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter)
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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There is this in common, in all the procession of Mayers through the ages, that their outward equipment has always sought some little bit of promise of greenery from nature's springtide, and rather a large piece of the human nature which runs to seed in the oriental "backsheesh" -- a picturesque combination of blessing and begging.
Fragments of Two Centuries Glimpses of Country Life when George III. was King Alfred Kingston
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a present of some small object, which is called the backsheesh, or gift.
Paul Patoff 1881
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I.E. he designates, with a pardonable smile of self-approval, as "backsheesh" given him, without solicitation, by the government of India; a circumstance that probably appeals to his
Around the World on a Bicycle - Volume II From Teheran To Yokohama Thomas Stevens 1894
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At Calais, Nakamura, who seemed to speak every language under the sun, took charge of my baggage as well as his own, and by some mysterious process, probably not altogether unconnected with "backsheesh," managed to clear the whole through the Customs in about five minutes.
Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun A Story of the Russo-Japanese War Harry Collingwood 1886
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Should he refuse to pay the necessary "backsheesh" or present to the tax-collectors, some false charge is trumped up against him, and he is thrown into prison.
In the Heart of Africa Samuel White Baker 1857
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I never saw or heard a hint of 'backsheesh', nor did I ever give it, on principle and I was always recognised and invited to come again with the greatest eagerness.
Letters from the Cape Lucie Duff Gordon 1845
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"backsheesh" (money), the mosques with their elegant minarets, and then the Pasha's new palace, the interior of which is most gorgeous.
Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters and Reminiscences, Vol. 1 James Marchant
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The boys came up on the promenade deck, clustering close to the rail and worshiping Miss Caruthers who had flung them such a wealth of backsheesh.
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A few Bedouins, a little backsheesh, some blank cartridges, and, behold — a raid!
The Nile, Then and Now Christian Rocca 2011
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What an honour to think that I am to be elevated to the throne, and to bring the seat in Parliament as backsheesh to the sultan!
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