cross palm with silver

cross (one's) palm with silver

To pay one, especially as a bribe. Well, if you cross my palm, I might remember a few details about the people you're asking about. I crossed her palm with silver to make sure she won't come after us. What is this money? Are you trying to cross my palm with silver so that I won't tell the authorities what you've done?

See also: cross, palm, silver

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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, palm, silver

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.