Definition of cross someone's palm with silver in English:

phrase

• Pay someone for a favour or service, especially before having one's fortune told.

  ‘we strongly suspect her palm had been crossed with silver in return for her silence’

  More example sentences

  • ‘I am the gipsy Zara, and if you cross my palm with silver, I will venture to advise you on your adventures.’
  • ‘Please now cross my palm with silver, or I'll set that woman on you.’
  • ‘Allegedly, a great deal more money has since crossed the palms of those in local government, and all of the charges against the owner seem to have been forgotten.’
  • ‘Some people don't even say thank you, but they do cross my palm with silver, so I can't complain.’
  • ‘‘I will take it,’ she said, fishing in her purse and crossing his palm with silver: ‘Here is the cost of your time.’’
  • ‘There are things he could do to make his company more efficient, but he won't do them until someone crosses his palm with silver.’
  • ‘Meanwhile the rest of the world will move ahead, while our country is stuck in the mud because no one can write 1 + 1 = 2 without crossing somebody's palm with silver.’
  • ‘I fall for it every time; who wouldn't - the chance for follicular perfection by just crossing someone's palm with silver.’
  • ‘You may get a barman with a seething hatred for you in his steely glare, tempered only lightly if you choose to cross his palm with extra silver.’
  • ‘Yet, in allowing him to cross his palm with silver - £160,000 pieces to be exact - McDonald became the architect of his own downfall.’