glad hand
Politician's warm greeting
A glad hand is an effusive, often insincere greeting or welcome—the kind of enthusiastic handshake that politicians and salespeople deploy: He worked the room, glad-handing donors.
To glad-hand is to greet people this way, with warmth that seems calculated rather than genuine.
The term carries a whiff of cynicism about the person doing it.
Excessive insincere praise
- ingratiateSeek another's approval
- butter upFlatter insincerely for advantage
- fawnYoung deer, or flatter
- sycophantServile praise-giver
toady · unctuous · adulation · pander · smarmy · bootlicker · brownnose · slick
Fraudulent person or thing
- feignedFalsely displayed or simulated
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
- insincereFeigning belief or feeling
- duplicitousDeliberately deceptive in nature
hollow · superficial · pretense · artificial · contrived · perfunctory · obligatory · token
Mutual palm-gripping gesture
- welcomeHospitable greeting offered
- smilePleased facial expression
- waveOscillating motion through medium
- receptionAct of receiving guests
introduction · acknowledgment · meet and greet · firm grip · clasping · warm welcome
Organized effort toward goal
- stumpTrunk base after felling
- fundraiserEvent collecting money
- lobbyistPaid legislative influencer
- caucusParty selection meeting
rally · candidate · constituents · election · endorsement · grassroots · incumbent · partisan
People you know professionally
- connectionsRelationships between things
- rapportHarmonious mutual connection
- alliancesFormal unions for cooperation
- mixersCombination devices or gatherings
professional · schmoozing · working the room · mingling · cocktail party · reception · business cards · social climbing
flattery
Excessive insincere praise
- ingratiateSeek another's approval
- butter upFlatter insincerely for advantage
- fawnYoung deer, or flatter
sycophant · toady · unctuous · adulation · pander · smarmy · bootlicker · brownnose · slick · effusive
phony
Fraudulent person or thing
- feignedFalsely displayed or simulated
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
- insincereFeigning belief or feeling
duplicitous · hollow · superficial · pretense · artificial · contrived · perfunctory · obligatory · token · two-faced
handshake
Mutual palm-gripping gesture
- welcomeHospitable greeting offered
- smilePleased facial expression
- waveOscillating motion through medium
reception · introduction · acknowledgment · meet and greet · firm grip · clasping · warm welcome
campaign
Organized effort toward goal
- stumpTrunk base after felling
- fundraiserEvent collecting money
- lobbyistPaid legislative influencer
caucus · rally · candidate · constituents · election · endorsement · grassroots · incumbent · partisan · rope line
contacts
People you know professionally
- connectionsRelationships between things
- rapportHarmonious mutual connection
- alliancesFormal unions for cooperation
mixers · professional · schmoozing · working the room · mingling · cocktail party · reception · business cards · social climbing · influence
- body idiomsheart of gold, heart of stone, cold heart, warm heart, soft heart
- train partsbogie, truck, trucks, wheel, wheelset
- train brakesair brake, air brakes, brake shoe, brake shoes, brake pad
glad handavoid
Stay away from
keep one's distance · hang back · shy away · keep to oneself · withdraw
glad, hand, gladly, gladness, gladden, gladdened, gladdening, gladder, gladdest