Brewer's: Plush

(John). A gorgeous footman, conspicuous for his plush breeches.

To take plush.
To take a subordinate place in the ministry, where one can only act as a government flunkey.

“Lord Rosebery perhaps remembers that, years ago, a young politician who had just finished his education, was warned by an old and affectionate teacher `not to take plush ... The reply was, `I have been offered plush tied with red tape, and have refused it.” —Nineteenth Century, Jan., 1892, p. 137.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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