Palm oil

noun, slang

Definitions

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

    "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. 2
    oil from nuts of oil palms especially the African oil palm wordnet
  3. 3
    Money given as a bribe. countable, slang, uncountable

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.

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