shinplaster means an essentially worthless note of paper money. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
Why “shinplaster” is a great word
SHINPLASTER — [Noun] A depreciated or essentially worthless piece of paper money, especially a low-denomination banknote. From shin (the front of the leg below the knee) + plaster (a medical dressing). Coined during the American War of Independence (1775–1783) for its resemblance to a makeshift bandage. Unlike specie, which carries the solid weight of metal, or legal tender, which bears the full faith of a state, a shinplaster was a private, provisional token of desperation. It is the grimy scrip passed in a beleaguered camp, the ink bleeding through cheap rag paper, the fragile receipt for a debt that will never be honored—a testament to the thin membrane between fiduciary trust and outright fiction.
Etymology
From shin + plaster.
Probably coined during the American War of Independence (1775–1783). Named for its resemblance to, and suitability for makeshift use as, a bandage for dressing the shin.
noun
- An essentially worthless note of paper money.
- A 25¢ banknote.