Definition: Pot

It refers to a container for liquids, hence the expression "drink a glass". A calibrated and controlled wine container; colloquially: a glass of any drink, refreshment or beverage; recently in Switzerland and certain other wine-growing regions, a new unit of measurement in the form of a 50-centilitre bottle. In various regions, particularly in Beaujolais, the pot is also a 46.5 to 50 cl bottle.

The pot-de-vin refers to a very old custom of sealing an agreement between two parties by sharing wine. It has become a more or less honest practice of paying a sum in addition to the agreed price in order to obtain or conclude a deal.

Pot-de-vin—with two hyphens—refers, even if it is not paid in cash, to a "kickback", a bribe (also with two hyphens), a bakchich, a sum paid illegally and secretly to buy individuals, to corrupt them.

The two hyphens emphasise the double metaphor: there is no actual pot and there is no wine. Without the hyphens, of course, it is no longer money used to bribe, but a real pot intended to contain grape juice. Strictly speaking, pot à vin is used to refer to an empty container designed to hold Beaujolais, Juliénas, Sancerre, Côtes-du-Rhône, etc., and pot de vin when this container is full. The distinction between pot de vin and pot-de-vin can be illustrated with a historical anecdote: the Duke of Noailles, President of the Finance Council under the Regency, once reproached one of the council members, named Rouillé du Coudrai, for his drunkenness:

The reprimand was severe, no doubt, but polite: "Monsieur Rouillé, ça sent la bouteille!" (Mr Rouillé, it smells like alcohol!) Whether inspired by the spirit of wine (also written esprit-de-vin, the old name for ethyl alcohol), Rouillé replied wittily: "That may be so, Your Grace, but it will never smell of bribery!" It would, of course, be wrong to equate modest gifts given in gratitude for a service rendered, or even in the hope of having one's case given priority, with criminal bribes!