- I usually do a little Xerox subsidy copying in my lunch hour.
Xerox subsidy
noun; compounding
Swiping free photocopies from one's workplace This is a euphemism to disguise the dishonest enterprise of using the work photocopying facilities for personal photocopies. The word subsidy is used as a metaphor because the actual action involves getting something for nothing. This euphemism is most predominant in the business community.
Etymology : From Xerox + from Middle English subsidie, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin subsidium “reserve troops, support, assistance,” from sub- “behind, beneath, near” + sedEre “to sit”
Source : My father
Last modified: 10 June 2008