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Social lubricant

noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A food, beverage, drug or activity that helps people feel more comfortable in social occasions. idiomatic

    "Beer's qualities as a “social lubricant” should play an important role in the debate on the harms of alcohol, according to the boss of Heineken."

Etymology

By a metaphor in which facilitating human social interaction is portrayed as lubricating machinery (e.g., oiling the gears, greasing the wheels); in this regard, compare also lubrication payment.

See also for "social lubricant"

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