Grease One's Palms May 2026

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

(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 grease one's palms

"If you want your luggage to make the plane on time, be sure to ." "To expedite the building approval process, the contractor

"Files rarely move in that government office unless you of the clerks." "To expedite the building approval process

: The idiom relies on the metaphor of moving parts in a machine. Just as applying grease to a squeaky wheel or stiff engine part reduces friction and makes it move smoothly, giving money to an official makes a bureaucratic process move faster.