Brewer's: Cooked

The books have been cooked. The ledger and other trade books have been tampered with, in order to show a balance in favour of the bankrupt. The term was first used in reference to George Hudson, the railway king, under whose chairmanship the Eastern Counties Railway accounts were falsified. The allusion is to preparing meat for table.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language