government cheese

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government cheese

noun

US, historical, uncountable A poor-quality processed cheese, similar to regular American cheese, produced and stored in the 1970s and 1980s from excess dairy milk production from dairy subsidies, created by the U.S. government to support the milk industry, and for long term storage.
US, historical, uncountable Processed cheese provided to welfare and food stamp recipients in the United States during the 1980s and early 1990s (coming from such stocks).
US, excessive, humorous, uncountable Any inexpensive unexceptional cheese. Eww, no. Don't be putting that government cheese on my sandwich! Give me the havarti!
Similar: rat-trap cheese, rat cheese
US, broadly, uncountable Welfare in general. Near-synonym: largesse
Similar: largesse

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MLA

"government cheese." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/government%20cheese. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

government cheese. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/government%20cheese

Chicago

"government cheese." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/government%20cheese.

BibTeX

@misc{government_cheese_2026,
  title = {government cheese},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/government%20cheese},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}