lubrication payment

idiom

Meaning

A bribe or extorted money, usually relatively small in amount, provided to a low-level government official or business person, in order to expedite a business decision, shipment, or other transaction, especially in a country where such payments are not unusual.

Origin

disputed origin

By a metaphor in which facilitating human socioeconomic interaction is portrayed as lubricating machinery (e.g., oiling the gears, greasing the wheels); in this regard, compare also social lubricant.

Examples

SIMPLE

He gave the clerk a small lubrication payment to speed up his permit.

CONTEXTUAL

The driver offered a small lubrication payment to the border guard to ensure his shipment cleared customs without further delay.

COMPLEX

While the company officially maintained a strict anti-corruption policy, local managers often found that a modest lubrication payment was the only way to navigate the bureaucratic gridlock.

Anchors to

Related idioms1entry

01
grease payment
A bribe or extorted money, usually relatively small in amount, provided to a low-level government official or business person, in order to expedite a business decision, shipment, or other transaction, especially in a country where such payments are not unusual.