Grease One's — Palms

"To expedite the building approval process, the contractor decided to ." 🔄 Synonyms and Variants

This idiom carries a highly connotation. It is associated with corruption, unethical behavior, and unfair advantages. However, in very casual contexts (like tipping a restaurant host for a table when fully booked), it can occasionally be used lightheartedly without implying a serious crime.

🔍 Meaning and Origin

(Usually refers to smoothing out a situation, sometimes without illegal bribery) Oil someone's palm Palm grease (Used as a noun to mean the actual bribe money) Pay a kickback or give a handout ⚠️ Tone and Connotation

"Files rarely move in that government office unless you of the clerks." grease one's palms

"If you want your luggage to make the plane on time, be sure to ."

: To secretly give someone money to persuade them to do something for you. "To expedite the building approval process, the contractor

: This is an exceptionally old English idiom dating back to the first half of the 1500s. 📝 Common Sentence Examples