Kosher

Acceptable, genuine, or in proper order in informal figurative use.

Reach for it when describing legitimacy in colloquial speech while recognizing the word's Jewish religious origin

The auditor confirmed that every reimbursement was kosher.

• playful

  on the level

  honest informal reassurance suits the audience

  not when The phrase is slangy and can sound evasive in an audit.

• everyday

  aboveboard

  open honest dealing is the evidence

  not when Aboveboard concerns transparency and not every kind of acceptability.

• warm

  genuine

  authenticity rather than fraud is the issue

  not when Genuine cannot replace kosher when procedural approval is meant.

• professional

  acceptable

  the matter meets the relevant threshold

  not when Acceptable may be merely adequate and does not imply clean dealing.

• professional

  legitimate

  lawful or valid status is the supportable claim

  not when Legitimate can be formally valid while still unwise or unfair.

• formal

  halal

  Islamic dietary or religious permissibility is literally intended

  not when Halal belongs to a distinct religious framework and is not an interchangeable synonym.

• formal

  proper

  requirements or conventions have been followed

  not when Proper can enforce social etiquette rather than actual legitimacy.

• fraudulent
• improper
• illegitimate

• completely kosher

  The reviewer found the revised expense completely kosher.

• look kosher

  The permit looked kosher, but the inspector verified the signature.

• everything is kosher

  Once the consent forms were signed, everything was kosher.

Kosher primarily describes conformity with Jewish dietary or religious law. The figurative sense can feel appropriative or flippant, especially when halal is treated as an interchangeable equivalent.

• Wiktionary, English adjective figurative sense: legitimate, genuine, or acceptable ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.