Meanings
present singular third person has one's hand in the till · participle present having one's hand in the till · participle past had one's hand in the till · past had one's hand in the till
- UKidiomaticTo embezzle, to steal from one's place of business.
1 more example
Francis Urquhart: You've been a bit of a bad lad, haven't you, Roger? Roger O'Neill: What? FU: You've had your hand in the till. RO: Francis, you're joking! FU: Your expenses are paid by Central Office, aren't they? But you've been claiming quite large sums from the advertising agency as well. It's a bit naughty, Roger.
1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 1Synonyms: have one's fingers in the till
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo embezzle, to steal from one's place of business.
Origin
From the most basic form of the crime: a shop assistant removing cash from the register.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch uit de kas graaien
- uit de kas graaiento steal money that one has been trusted with
French taper dans la caisse
- taper dans la caisseto steal money that one has been trusted with
Cite this entry
have one's hand in the till. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20hand%20in%20the%20till
“have one's hand in the till.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20hand%20in%20the%20till. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “have one's hand in the till,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20hand%20in%20the%20till.
Source: have one's hand in the till on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.