E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Palm Oil.
Bribes, or rather money for bribes, fees, etc.
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“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.
“The rich may escape with whole skins, but those without ‘palm-oil’ have scant mercy.”—Nineteenth Century, Aug., 1892, p. 312.
