Quiz: "coop" or "recoup"?

The correct answer is: recoup

"The US government now hopes to recoup some of the bonuses that were paid to AIG executives."

If you recoup money you get it back. Sometimes, the money is simply returned; sometimes the money is recouped through profits from an investment or through compensation. In this case, the US government is referring to bonuses that were paid to executives at the insurance giant AIG. Despite needing bailout money from the government, the executives had received huge bonuses. When details of the bonuses leaked, there was a public outcry and President Obama called the bonuses an outrage. 

Andrew Cuomo, New York's attorney general, has said that he hopes now to recoup $80 million in bonus payments. This would account for about half of the $165 million government bailout money that was paid out in bonuses. The company received a total of $170 billion from the government.

recoup

We can also talk about recouping strength, for example, after an illness or an accident. People may need to take time off work to recoup their strength, which means they need time to regain their strength. We also use the verb "recuperate" to talk about recovering from an illness or accident. 

coop

We cannot use coop in this sentence. As a verb, we can say that someone is cooped up — meaning they are locked in somewhere.

"She's cooped up in bed recouping from an accident." = Sie ist ans Bett gefesselt...

There is also a very nice idiom that contains the noun coop. A coop is a cage for keeping birds. If a chicken flies the coop, it escapes. We use this expression to talk about anyone who escapes from doing something. 

* "Where's John — I need him to finish this report?"
+ "He's flown the coop — he's left already for the Bahamas!
= Er hat sich aus dem Staub gemacht.

Try another:

"An _____ agreement is not enough. Get him to sign the contract!"

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