Etymology

See lubrication payment § EtymologyCategory:English links with manual fragments#GREASE%20PAYMENT.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#GREASEPAYMENT

Noun

grease payment (plural grease payments)Category:English lemmas#GREASEPAYMENTCategory:English nouns#GREASEPAYMENTCategory:English countable nouns#GREASEPAYMENTCategory:English multiword terms#GREASEPAYMENTCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#GREASEPAYMENTCategory:Pages with entries#GREASE%20PAYMENTCategory:Pages with 1 entry#GREASE%20PAYMENT

1. (chiefly USCategory:American English#GREASEPAYMENT, idiomaticCategory:English idioms#GREASEPAYMENT, businessCategory:en:Business#GREASEPAYMENT, lawCategory:en:Law#GREASEPAYMENT, ethicsCategory:en:Ethics#GREASEPAYMENT) 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. Category:en:Corruption#GREASEPAYMENT
   • 1981 July 28, Peter Grier, “US curb on overseas bribes: too prim, or simply proper?”, in Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 9 Apr. 2009:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GREASEPAYMENT

   • 2007 October 30, Mike Rast, “Webinar Prepares Local Companies for Cultural Gaps with India, China”, in globalatlanta.com, retrieved 9 Apr. 2009:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GREASEPAYMENT