A phrase which, when said about a person, indicates that this person is allocating funds from some public treasury (the
government, their
work, and so forth) for their personal use. Also sometimes said as having one's "
hand in the till."
Q: "How can
Rod Blagojevich afford to buy that
new yacht?"
A: "Oh, he was known to dip into the till quite often while he was governor of Illinois."
"
Stacy got fired from her job as a bartender because she was caught with her hand in the till."