dollar-a-year

[ dol-er-uh-yeer ]

adjective

1. of or being an official or employee, especially a federal appointee, who receives a token annual salary, usually of one dollar: a dollar-a-year man

Word History and Origins

Origin of dollar-a-year¹

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20

Example Sentences

I know a few folks—like Vikram Pandit at Citigroup and even Edward Liddy at AIG—have jumped in to serve as dollar-a-year CEOs.

From The Daily Beast

I do not recognize as sanctified any ceremony that can be annulled by a five-thousand-dollar-a-year judge.

From Project Gutenberg

A man may draw a twenty-thousand-dollar-a-year salary at Macy's and still be compelled to sign his time.

From Project Gutenberg

"Because they'll make you a dollar-a-year man and we're not in this to make any stinking dollar a year," Harry Bettis said.

From Project Gutenberg

As a substitute Blodgett spoke of some dollar-a-year work in Washington.

From Project Gutenberg