An American informal expression for unemployment benefits — the idea being that if you're collecting it, you might as well be sitting in a rocking chair doing nothing. It's a mildly sardonic phrase that implies the recipient is idle, though with more humor than judgment. The image evokes a slow, passive life waiting for checks rather than hustling. Popular enough in mid-20th century American vernacular but not widely used today.
After getting laid off from the plant, he joked he'd be living on rocking-chair money until he found something new.
No comments yet — say something.
(US, informal) unemployment benefit.
No comments yet — say something.
Add your own interpretation of "rocking-chair money".
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.