glad hands
Insincere warm welcomes
Glad hands is the plural of glad hand, the enthusiastic handshake of a politician or salesperson—warm in gesture, calculated in motive.
To glad-hand is to greet people with effusive but superficial friendliness: The candidate spent the afternoon glad-handing voters at the county fair.
The term carries a whiff of insincerity.
Feigning belief or feeling
- hollowEmpty within
- emptyHolding nothing inside
- perfunctoryDone with minimal effort
- superficialLacking depth or substance
phony · disingenuous · fake · two-faced · slick · oily · unctuous · smarmy
Casual social interaction
- schmoozingCasual strategic socializing
- working the roomSystematically engaging all attendees
- circulatingMoving in a circuit
- meet-and-greetScheduled public introduction
cocktail party · reception · mixer · icebreaker · contacts · connections · rapport-building · small talk
Flatter to persuade
- schmoozingCasual strategic socializing
- ingratiationDeliberate favor-seeking behavior
- sycophancyObsequious behavior toward authority
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
brownnosing · apple-polishing · bootlicking · stroking · soft-soap · compliments · charm offensive
Advocating to decision-makers
- campaigningActively pursuing political support
- canvassingSystematic direct voter outreach
- stumpingCampaigning for office
- electioneeringPolitical campaign activity
rope line · town hall · fundraiser · donor · constituent · backslapping · photo-op · rally
insincere
Feigning belief or feeling
- hollowEmpty within
- emptyHolding nothing inside
- perfunctoryDone with minimal effort
superficial · phony · disingenuous · fake · two-faced · slick · oily · unctuous · smarmy · smooth-talking
mingling
Casual social interaction
- schmoozingCasual strategic socializing
- working the roomSystematically engaging all attendees
- circulatingMoving in a circuit
meet-and-greet · cocktail party · reception · mixer · icebreaker · contacts · connections · rapport-building · small talk · chitchat
sweet-talk
Flatter to persuade
- schmoozingCasual strategic socializing
- ingratiationDeliberate favor-seeking behavior
- sycophancyObsequious behavior toward authority
fawning · brownnosing · apple-polishing · bootlicking · stroking · soft-soap · compliments · charm offensive
lobbying
Advocating to decision-makers
- campaigningActively pursuing political support
- canvassingSystematic direct voter outreach
- stumpingCampaigning for office
electioneering · rope line · town hall · fundraiser · donor · constituent · backslapping · photo-op · rally
glad handscold shoulder
Intentional dismissive treatment
snubs · rebuffs · brush-offs · ignores · brush-off
glad, hand, hands, gladly, gladness, gladden, gladdened, gladdening, gladder