a tool of unconventional monetary policy that has been proposed as an alternative to quantitative easing when interest rates are close to zero and the economy remains weak or enters recession; popularised by Milton Friedman in the form of dropping money on the ground (from a helicopter), though he didn't intend it as an actual policy
What remains to be tried is helicopter money, a half-serious Milton Friedman recipe for stimulating a sluggish economy with sure-fire monetary means: throw money from helicopters, so people can pick it up and go shopping, and all will be fine.