cook the books

idiomatic phrase

informal

: to alter official accounting records in order to deceive or mislead

Congress cooked the books with phony spending cuts and accounting gimmickry to appear to reduce the federal deficit.—

Colleen O'Connor

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of cook the books was in 1850

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Cook the books.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cook%20the%20books. Accessed 25 Mar. 2023.

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