# How often do informers collect reward money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 4, 2007, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-informers-collect-reward-money/398673 "2007-04-04T03:25:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-informers-collect-reward-money/398673/1 "2007-04-04T03:25:17Z")
Another well written staff report by GFactor. [How often do informers collect reward money?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrewards.htm) I did not realize how often posted rewards go unpaid, nor how difficult it is to collect them. I also wanted to add that **Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.** would make an awesome band name. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-informers-collect-reward-money/398673/2 "2007-04-04T03:54:12Z")
Thanks. I just noticed that _Slate_ā€™s Explainer has a related topic today: [How do you get on the FBIā€™s Most Wanted list?](http://www.slate.com/id/2163407/) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-informers-collect-reward-money/398673/3 "2007-04-04T20:50:38Z")
I also got to learn that ā€œbupkisā€ is variably spelled. Google gives 18,700 results for bupkes, 22,300 for bupkiss, and 60,500 (minus the 22,300 that are contributed by bupkiss) with bupkis. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-informers-collect-reward-money/398673/4 "2007-04-04T21:16:57Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] I also got to learn that ā€œbupkisā€ is variably spelled. [/QUOTE] That alone is worth the price of admission, no? šŸ˜ƒ I looked it up in Merriam-Webster online and a couple of other places because I, too, found multiple spellings online: > [@](#): > > Main Entry: bubĀ·kes > Variant(s): also bupĀ·kes or bupĀ·kus /'b&p-k&s, 'bup-/ > Function: noun plural but singular in construction > Etymology: Yiddish (probably short for kozebubkes, literally, goat droppings), plural of bubke, bobke, diminutive of bub, bob bean, of Slavic origin; akin to Polish bĆ³b bean > : the least amount : BEANS \; also : NOTHING \ > **[Definition of BUPKES](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bupkes)** > > the least amount : beans; also : nothingā€¦ See the full definition _And see_, Jeremy Dauber, ā€œThe Joys of Yiddish: Bubkes, gelt, meshugenehs: the heritage of one of the worldā€™s most expressive languages,ā€ _The Washington Post_, Sunday, December 25, 2005; BW15: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/22/AR2005122201581.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/22/AR2005122201581.html) Random House apparently doesnā€™t recognize bubkes: ā€œThe word bupkiss, often also spelled bupkis, means, as you say, ā€˜absolutely nothingā€™. In negative constructions (for example, ā€œHe didnā€™t know bupkisā€), it means ā€˜the least thing; anything at allā€™.ā€ [http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980302](http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980302). OTOH, my \*Random House Unabridged Dictionary \* (2d ed. 1993) has none of the spellings. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-informers-collect-reward-money/398673/5 "2007-04-04T23:06:04Z")
I have never seen in in English other than ā€œbupkisā€, but Yiddish has it \*bubkes \*AFAIK. Good article Gfactor. šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-informers-collect-reward-money/398673/6 "2007-04-04T23:49:59Z")
Excellent article indeed **Gfactor**. It was one of the more interesting reads on the board as of late. Itā€™s nice to know that if one ever decides to become a rat that they should (like most other things in life) get the details down in writing first. However since being a snitch is a rather dishonorable act in the first place, itā€™s even more interesting that even those on the side of the law see it as distasteful and have little regard for them as well. I guess itā€™s true, snitches only get stiches. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-informers-collect-reward-money/398673/7 "2007-04-05T18:16:13Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] \since being a snitch is a rather dishonorable act in the first place, itā€™s even more interesting that even those on the side of the law see it as distasteful and have little regard for them as well. [/QUOTE] Milhouse: ā€¦ Bart did it! That Bart right there! Bart: [angry] Milhouse! Lovejoy: Milhouse, you did the right thing. Bart, come with me for punishment. [goes back for Milhouse] You too, snitchy.