grease payment

Definitions

A bribe or extorted money, usually relatively small in amount, provided to a low-level government official or business person, in order to expedite a business decision, shipment, or other transaction, especially in a country where such payments are not unusual.

US, idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“Critics say⟳ there is no distinction between extortion and bribery, and that the distinction between a payoff (illegal) and a "grease" payment made to speed⟳ along normal duties (legal under the act) is unclear.”

“An important legal distinction is the difference between bribery and “grease payments,” which are paid in these countries not to affect⟳ someone’s decision-making but to speed⟳ the process⟳ of dealing with government.”

CEFR level