have hand in the till

have (one's) hand in the till

To be stealing money from one's workplace or employer. Margaret had her hand in the till for years, but she finally got caught after she claimed her two-week trip to Paris as a business expense. Do you really think Phil has his hand in the till? He's always been an upstanding citizen. Turns out, the CEO had his hand in the till—he used company credit cards to fund his lavish lifestyle!

See also: hand, have, till

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

have one's hand in the till

 and have one's finger(s) in the till

Fig. to steal money from one's employer. James couldn't afford that car on just his salary. He must have his hand in the till. Sally was outraged when she found that one of her salesclerks had his fingers in the till.

See also: hand, have, till

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

have your ˌfingers/ˌhand in the ˈtill

(British English, informal) steal, especially small amounts of money from a shop/store, business, etc. where you work: He lost his job after they found he’d had his hand in the till.

See also: finger, hand, have, till

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017