Idiom
on the drum
Meaning
Money in the form of paper currency or coins, paid immediately at the time and place of a transaction, especially to a soldier as pay or bonuses.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The soldiers received their pay on the drum.”
“The captain promised the troops their bonuses on the drum before they marched out to the front lines.”
“In an era before electronic banking, the commander insisted that the men receive their wages on the drum to ensure immediate payment.”
Examples
simple
“The soldiers received their pay on the drum.”
contextual
“The captain promised the troops their bonuses on the drum before they marched out to the front lines.”
complex
“In an era before electronic banking, the commander insisted that the men receive their wages on the drum to ensure immediate payment.”
Key words
Related idioms
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