Idiom
green handshake
Meaning
A bribe, or a transfer of money that the interested parties represent as a tip but that disinterested third parties are likely to view as a bribe.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The official accepted a green handshake to approve the permit.”
“You cannot get a table here without giving the host a green handshake.”
“He offers a green handshake to avoid paying the full fine.”
“The contractor slipped the inspector a green handshake to ensure the building passed its safety check without any delays.”
“The politician lost his job after a journalist filmed him accepting a green handshake from the local property developer.”
“Some people believe that a green handshake is the only way to get a driver's license quickly in this city.”
“Although the transaction was documented as a standard consulting fee, the investigators suspected it was merely a green handshake intended to influence the outcome of the bidding process.”
Examples
simple
“The official accepted a green handshake to approve the permit.”
“You cannot get a table here without giving the host a green handshake.”
“He offers a green handshake to avoid paying the full fine.”
contextual
“The contractor slipped the inspector a green handshake to ensure the building passed its safety check without any delays.”
“The politician lost his job after a journalist filmed him accepting a green handshake from the local property developer.”
“Some people believe that a green handshake is the only way to get a driver's license quickly in this city.”
complex
“Although the transaction was documented as a standard consulting fee, the investigators suspected it was merely a green handshake intended to influence the outcome of the bidding process.”
Origin
Because U.S. dollar bills are green; the term reflects euphemistic irony, as it implies that a handshake that hands them off is more than a mere handshake.
Key words
Related idioms
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