toss (someone) a bone

To attempt to appease or placate someone by giving them something trivial or of minor importance, or by doing some small favor for them. (A reference to giving an animal a bone or scrap from a bigger portion of food, this phrase is a variant of the more common "throw (someone) a bone.") My younger brother is always pleading for me to help his career, so I tossed him a bone and got him a gig in some bar at the edge of town.