Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US, also cush-cush, koosh, kush) money.

1899–1900		C.L. Cullen Tales of the Ex-Tanks 77: I struck this feather-flowers’ graft [...] Now I’m getting the cush.
1904		‘Number 1500’ Life In Sing Sing 261: Everything was rosy, the cush was coming strong and I was patting this ginny on the hump, but I was a sooner.
1907		B. Fisher A. Mutt in Blackbeard Compilation (1977) 16: The roll is now $44800 in Uncle Sam’s koosh. [Ibid.] 27: Hither, gentle kush, hither.
1914		Ade ‘The New Fable of the Lonesome Camp’ in Ade’s Fables 259: When Providence is directing the Hand outs, she very often slips some Squarehead the canny Gift of corraling the Cush.
1915		Wodehouse Psmith Journalist (1993) 259: They ‘stick up’ an occasional wayfarer for his ‘cush’.
1927		D. Hammett ‘The Big Knockover’ Story Omnibus (1966) 318: Got Red, Flora, Pogy and the cush.
1931		C.S. Montanye ‘Tight Spot’ in Complete Stories 15 Sept. 🌐 Don’t come back with excuses instead of the big cush.
1938		A.I. Bezzerides Long Haul 65: We work velly hard, allatime, but no make cush-cush, money, see?
1945		L. Hoban ‘Time to Kill’ Crack Detective Jan. 🌐 But five C’s — when you were just contemplating if Shanty Sam around the corner would go on the arm for another couple of hamburgers — definitely was real kush.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 54/1: Cush. (Obsolete, except in rural South) Money, especially a bribe, loot, or other ‘easy’ money.
1962		Ragen & Finston World’s Toughest Prison 796: cush – Money.
1987		W.T. Vollmann You Bright and Risen Angels (1988) 314: Here’s how we clean out their cush, their C-notes and megs, their deemers and crisp green bumblebees.
2003		Observer Crime 27 Apr. 28: Cush. Savings to fall back on. From cushion.

2. (US Und.) a bank teller; a cashier.

1904

‘Number 1500’ Life In Sing Sing 263: I got a sneak on a jug and it swung heavy, but in making my get-away, the cush got my mug.

3. (US) a tip.

1929

W.R. Burnett Little Caesar (1932) 85: He [...] handed Seal Skin a ten. ‘There’s a little cush for you.’.