I love the English language and love playing with it - even if I don't always type it properly.

As a result I was delighted when the Guardian editorial today presented me with a word I had not come across before - pelf.

The Oxford Dictionary on my Mac defines it as:

pelf |pelf|

noun

money, esp. when gained in a dishonest or dishonorable way.

ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [booty, pilfered property] ): from a variant of Old French pelfre ‘spoils,' of unknown origin. Compare with pilfer .

I have a suspicion I might be using that one again - it's just so apt.

And for those bankers on twitter who thought the editorial was ambiguous - I think you missed the point in the title.

PDF of article