salt away

English

Etymology

An allusion to the preservation of food in salt.

Pronunciation

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Verb

salt away (third-person singular simple present salts away, present participle salting away, simple past and past participle salted away)

1. (transitive, dated) To salt (something) for preservation and then store it away for winter.
2. (transitive, idiomatic) To save or preserve (especially money) for future use.
   • 1863, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 2, in Miles Wallingford‎^[1]:

     "You have more than two thousand salted away, I know, Moses, between prize-money, wages, adventures, and other matters."

   • 1908, O. Henry, “Tempered Wind”, in The Gentle Grafter:

     Some of the stockholders . . . wanted to leave the money invested. "Salt away that chicken feed in your duds, and skip along," says Buck. "What business have you got investing in bonds?"