palm

*itchy palm and *itching palm

Fig. [of a hand] in need of a tip. (As if placing money in the palm would stop the itching. *Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone ~.) All the waiters at that restaurant have itchy palms. The cabdriver was troubled by an itching palm. Since he refused to carry my bags, I gave him nothing. Whenever he sees expensive luggage, the hotel doorman gets an itching palm.

See also: itchy

cross someone's palm with silver

Fig. to pay money to someone in payment for a service. (A fortune-teller might ask for a potential customer to cross her palm with silver. Used in that sense or jocularly for something like tipping a porter.) I crossed his palm with silver, but he still stood there. You will find that things happen much faster in hotels if you cross the staff's palms with silver fairly often.

See also: cross, silver

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

know someone or something like the palm of one's hand and know someone or something like the back of one's hand; know someone or something like a book

to know someone or something very well. Of course I know John. I know him like the back of my hand. I know him like a book.

See also: hand, know, like

palm someone or something off (on someone) (as someone or something) and pass someone or something off (on someone) (as someone or something); pawn someone or something off (on someone) (as someone or something)

Fig. to give someone or something to someone as a gift that appears to be someone or something desirable. (As if the gift had been concealed in one's palm until it was gotten rid of.) Are you trying to palm that annoying client off on me as a hot prospect? Don't palm off that pest on me. Please don't pass that problem off on me as a challenge. Don't pass it off on me! Don't pawn it off on me as something of value.

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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

have somebody in the palm of your hand  also have somebody eating out of the palm of your hand

to have so much control over someone that they will do whatever you want them to do She's got her boyfriend eating out of the palm of her hand. It was such an amazing performance - he had the audience in the palm of his hand.

See grease palm

See also: hand, have

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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

in the palm of your hand

under your complete control The audience was fascinated - he held them in the palm of his hand.

See also: hand

palm off something also palm something off

to trick or persuade someone to take something They palmed off cheap wine at high prices by putting it in fancy bottles. She produced fake stamps and palmed them off as genuine.

Related vocabulary: fob something off on somebody