chaff, n.² — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

chaff n.²

[SE chaff, husks of corn after threshing]

1. (Aus.) money.

1939		K. Tennant Foveaux 310: Think I’m skiting, do you? I can skite if I want to. I earn the chaff.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 286: With a bit of luck I might be worth half a million or more in a year or so. That was enough chaff for any man.
1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxiii 4/3: chaff: Money.

2. (Aus. prison) rubbish, waste.

2006

B. Matthews Intractable [ebook] [They] gave me a smother while I climbed into a chaff bag and hid inside the box.

chaff-burner (n.)

(Aus.) a second-rate racehorse.

1971		Papua New Guinea Post-Courier (Port Moresby) 6 May 25/1: Things are beginning to look up for the racehorse owner - especially the one burdened with a chaff-burner who can never finish within cooee of the winner.
1983		J. Byrell (con. 1959) Up the Cross 35: The animal [...] was odds-on to turn out to be nothing but a chaff burner.
1996		J. Byrell Liars, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 45: [T]he doc swearing [...] never to outlay on a chaffburner again .
2016		E. Cassidy Whopper [ebook] Melbourne’s racing fraternity [...] were more than willing to pay top prices to have their precious chaffburners portrayed in oils.

chaff money (n.)

(Aus.) a paltry amount (of winnings); only enough to buy chaff for the horse that won.

1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 2 June 10/5: Anyway, the stake was only worth 25 sovs. to the winner - just chaff money for a few weeks, as it were.
1918		Sport (Adelaide) 10 May 1/7: The long distance horses are provided for in the S.A.J.C. Handicap, which is run over a mile and a half, and it will give the Cup failures a chance to earn chaff money.
1928		Sun. Times (Perth) 27 May 9/2: Of course, at the tail end of the season [...] the battlers are ‘chasing their chaff money,’ and this to some extent accounts for the large number of starters.
1940		Sport (Adelaide) 26 Jan. 8/6: Young Derby was fourth, thus gaining £2 (chaff money) for the hard-working Woodville blacksmith’s son.
1996		J. Byrell Liars, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 121: And, mainly because of his dud looks, Telford managed to snare him for £168 which, even way back then, was chaff money for a genuine thoroughbred.