sweetheart deal
Favorable insider arrangement
A sweetheart deal is an arrangement that gives one party unusually favorable terms, typically through insider connections or corrupt influence rather than fair negotiation.
The phrase implies that personal relationships—not market forces—shaped the agreement: The senator's brother got a sweetheart deal on the government contract.
Often used critically to suggest impropriety.
- bargainFavorable purchase price
- preferentialGiven special advantage
- favoritismPreferential treatment of some
- old boy networkInformal elite mutual-aid system
- privilegeExclusive right or benefit
golden parachute · quid pro quo · pay to play · palm greasing · no-bid contract · smoke-filled room · cronyism · agreement · contract · partnership · insider trading · inside job · megadeal · nepotism · conflict of interest · influence peddling · advantageous · pact
- corruptioncorruption, graft, kickbacks, bribery, bribes
- ethics violationsbribery, bribes, kickbacks, kickback, nepotism
- wastetrash, garbage, rubbish, refuse, debris
- favoritismfavoritism, nepotism, cronyism, partiality, preferential treatment
- pork barrelearmark, earmarking, pork barrel, bridge to nowhere, pet project
- retail jargonshrink, shrinkage, merch, markdown, endcap
sweetheart dealcompetitive bid
Offer made against rivals
hard bargain · fair market value · level playing field · competitive bidding · standard terms
sweet, sweetheart, sweeter, sweetest, sweetly, sweetness, sweeten, sweetened, sweetening