grease

grease monkey

A mechanic, especially one who works on aircraft or automobiles. My parents were of course concerned when I decided to drop out of high school and become a grease monkey, but I love my job!

grease payment

A sum of money, typically a bribe, paid to a government official or business person so as to facilitate or expedite some decision or transaction. Just offer the governor's aide a grease payment to move our building application to the forefront of the governor's agenda.

grease the wheels

To facilitate, expedite, ease, or aid something or some process; to make or help things run more smoothly or more easily. Hopefully, this shift in public opinion will help grease the wheels of immigration reform. The clients have been reluctant to sign on for another year, so the boss is offering a cash incentive to help grease the wheels.

the squeaking wheel gets the grease

The people who complain or protest the loudest are the ones who receive the most attention from others. My sister makes a point of writing letters of complaint to businesses whenever she has an issue with their service, and nine times out of ten, she's rewarded with some kind of discount or gift. I guess it's true, the squeaking wheel gets the grease.

yellow grease

Used cooking oil, often in the fast food industry. A: "What are those huge containers for?" B: "Oh, I think they hold the restaurant's yellow grease."

faster than greased lightning

Extremely fast. Wow, that car just blew past me—it's faster than greased lightning! When I take tests, I'm faster than greased lightning, so I'm sure I'll be the first one done.

grease (one's) hand

To bribe someone discreetly by slipping money into his or her hand. A: "How are we going to get a table without a reservation?" B: "Don't worry, I greased the hostess' hand, and she promised us a table in no time." I greased my brother's hand to stop him from telling mom that I had a party while she was away.

elbow grease

Fig. hard scrubbing. Tom: What did you use to get your car so shiny? Mary: Just regular wax and some elbow grease. Joe put a lot of elbow grease into cleaning the kitchen.

grease someone's palm

and oil someone's palm

Fig. to bribe someone. If you want to get something done around here, you have to grease someone's palm. I'd never oil a police officer's palm. That's illegal.

See also: grease, palm

grease the skids

Fig. to help prepare for or ease the way for the success or failure of someone or something. Ray set out to grease the skids for the right things to happen. We need someone to grease the skids for the Wilson contract.

like greased lightning

Rur. very fast. Once I get her tuned up, this old car will go like greased lightning. He's a fat kid, but he can run like greased lightning.

use some elbow grease

Fig. use some effort, as in scrubbing something. (As if lubricating one's elbow would make one more efficient. Note the variations in the examples.) Come on, Bill. You can do it. Just use some elbow grease. I tried elbow grease, but it doesn't help get the job done.

grease somebody's palm

also grease the palm of somebody

to give someone money to persuade them to do what you want Some of those candidates spent money greasing the palms of local political bosses.

See also: grease, palm

elbow grease

(humorous)

hard work, especially when you are cleaning something With determination and elbow grease we soon transformed the filthy kitchen.

grease somebody's palm

to give money to someone in authority in order to persuade them to do something for you, especially something wrong Drug barons were greasing the palm of the chief of police.

See also: grease, palm

like greased lightning

(old-fashioned)

if someone does something like greased lightning, they do it very quickly I mentioned work and he was out of the room like greased lightning.

elbow grease

Strenuous physical effort, as in You'll have to use some elbow grease to get the house painted in time. This term alludes to vigorous use of one's arm in cleaning, polishing, or the like. It soon was extended to any kind of hard work, and Anthony Trollope used it still more figuratively ( Thackeray, 1874): "Forethought is the elbow-grease which a novelist ... requires." [First half of 1600s]

grease someone's palm

Also, oil someone's palm or hand . Give someone money in exchange for a favor; also, bribe someone. For example, If you want you luggage to make the plane, be sure to grease the porter's palm. This term uses grease in the sense of "enrich." [First half of 1500s]

See also: grease, palm

grease the wheels

Also, oil the wheels. Make things run smoothly, as in You can count on Ben to grease the wheels so we'll be waited on promptly. This metaphoric expression transfers literal lubrication to figurative. [Mid-1600s]

like greased lightning

Also, like a blue streak; like the wind; like blazes. Very fast indeed, as in He climbed that ladder like greased lightning, or She kept on talking like a blue streak, or The children ran like the wind when they heard there'd be free ice cream. The likening of speed to lightning dates from the 1500s, and grease was added in the early 1800s to further accentuate the idea of haste. The first variant, blue streak, also dates from the early 1800s and alludes to something resembling lightning. The wind in the second variant has been a metaphor for swiftness since ancient Roman times. The blazes in the last variant, first recorded in 1925, alludes to fire or lightning.

squeaky wheel gets the grease

The loudest complaints get the most attention, as in No matter what table they give her, Helen generally insists on a better one and gets it-the squeaky wheel gets the grease . The current version of this idiom, with its allusion to a wagon wheel that needs oiling, is ascribed to American humorist Josh Billings (1818-1885) in a poem, "The Kicker": "I hate to be a kicker [complainer], I always long for peace, But the wheel that does the squeaking Is the one that gets the grease." However, the idea of the idiom is much older. A manuscript from about 1400 had: "Ever the worst spoke of the cart creaks." Similar sayings were repeated over the succeeding centuries.

stew in one's own juice

Suffer the consequences of one's actions, as in He's run into debt again, but this time we're leaving him to stew in his own juice. This metaphoric term alludes to cooking something in its own liquid. Versions of it, such as fry in one's own grease, date from Chaucer's time, but the present term dates from the second half of the 1800s.

grease up

To coat something completely with grease; lubricate something with grease: The mechanic greased up the motor. At the fair, they greased the pigs up and then we chased them.

elbow-grease

n. effort. All this job needs is a little more elbow-grease.

goober-grease

(ˈgubɚgris)

n. peanut butter. Pass me some of that goober-grease, will ya?

grease

n. protection money; bribery money. (see also grease someone’s palm.) See that the commissioner of the park district gets a little grease to help us get the contract.

grease monkey

n. a mechanic. I took my car to my favorite grease monkey who says I need a new something or other.

grease someone’s palm

tv. to pay someone a bribe. I had to grease the clerk’s palm in order to get the job done.

See also: grease, palm

grease the skids

tv. to help prepare for the success or failure of someone or something. (see also put the skids under someone/something.) Ray set out to grease the skids for the right things to happen.

greased

(grizd and grist)

mod. alcohol intoxicated. He went out and got himself greased, even though he knew it would probably kill him.

greased lightning

1. n. strong liquor. This greased lightning of yours nearly blew my head off.

2. n. something fast or powerful. That kid can run like greased lightning.

grease (someone's)

palm/hand Slang

To bribe.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Nura	-	Arabic
Arthur	AHR-thər (English), ar-TUYR (French), AHR-toor (German), AHR-tur (Dutch)	English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Romance
Heru	-	Egyptian Mythology
Iarlaith	EER-lah	Irish
Esen	-	Turkish
Setareh	-	Persian