oil his palm






grease his palm = oil his palm

bribe someone – informal

This phrase comes from the practice of applying grease to a machine to make it run smoothly. The same expression exists in French as graisser la patte. The form with palm is now predominant but hand appears in the earliest recorded versions of the idiom dating from the 16th century.

1998 - Economist - Licences to run a shop [in Italy] have caused many an official's palm to be greased.




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