grease someone's palm
Meaning: To bribe someone.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The contractor greased a few palms to win the deal.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Money as grease that makes things run smoothly. Versions of the phrase are found from the 16th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Polish: wziąć w łapę — literally: to take in the paw
- French: Graisser la patte — literally: To grease the paw
More idioms — Body & Senses
- go by shanks' mare — To walk; to travel on foot.
- have a foot in both camps — To be involved with two opposing sides at once.
- deaf as a post — Completely deaf.
- soaked to the skin — Completely wet.
- have one foot in the grave — To be close to death.
- on one's toes — Alert and ready to react.
More English idioms
- set the record straight — To correct a mistaken account or misunderstanding.
- a damp squib — Something expected to be impressive that turns out a disappointment.
- no contest — Said when one side is clearly better and there is no real competition.
- don't shoot the messenger — Don't blame the person who brings bad news.
- slow and steady wins the race — Patience and persistence succeed better than haste.
- as old as Methuselah — Extremely old.
From our proverbs
- Haste makes waste, and waste makes want, and want makes strife between the good man and his wife. — Rushing through tasks creates careless errors that deplete resources, breeding household…
- Morning is the time for study. — Studying when mentally fresh at dawn yields better comprehension than attempting learning…
- He that runs in the night stumbles. — Rushing blindly without proper awareness or preparation invites failure and missteps.