"Files rarely move in that government office unless you of the clerks."
: The idiom relies on the metaphor of moving parts in a machine. Just as applying grease to a squeaky wheel or stiff engine part reduces friction and makes it move smoothly, giving money to an official makes a bureaucratic process move faster. grease one's palms
"To expedite the building approval process, the contractor decided to ." 🔄 Synonyms and Variants "Files rarely move in that government office unless
🔍 Meaning and Origin
: This is an exceptionally old English idiom dating back to the first half of the 1500s. 📝 Common Sentence Examples grease one's palms