View synonyms for glad hand

glad hand

noun

, Informal.

a hearty welcome or enthusiastic reception, especially one that is effusive or hypocritical:
Visiting dignitaries were being given the glad hand.

glad-hand

[ glad-hand ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

to greet others with enthusiasm, especially feigned enthusiasm:
The candidate spent weeks glad-handing around the state.

glad hand

First recorded in 1890–95

First recorded in 1900–05

A warm and hearty but often insincere welcome or greeting, as in Politicians are apt to give the glad hand to one and all . [ Slang ; late 1800s]

Then I went down to the office with Dad, and saw the boys, who all came round and gave me the glad hand, and wished me luck.

He raised, he flung up glad hand and commenced to ride in circles, around and around and around.

You may be sure Ed meets him at the station—Ed is not working—and he gives him the hello and the glad hand.

After the count was over, Flood made a great ado over my guest and gave him the glad hand as if he had been a long-lost brother.

Where'd be the sense in them giving the glad hand to the guy who's got it in him to do them out of a nice soft job?

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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