palm oil
Preserved but no longer current.
Bribes, or rather money for bribes, fees, etc. In Ireland the machinery of a political movement will not work unless there is plenty of palm-oil to prevent friction. — Irish Seditions from 1792 to 1880, p. 39.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “palm oil” mean?
Bribes, or rather money for bribes, fees, etc. In Ireland the machinery of a political movement will not work unless there is plenty of palm-oil to prevent friction. — Irish Seditions from 1792 to 1880, p. 39.
Is “palm oil” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.