palm oil

noun

Etymology: In the sense of a bribe, the phrase is a punning reference to the palm of the hand and also to oil as lubricant rather than foodstuff.

1. An edible plant oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis).

   “Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia.”

2. Money given as a bribe.