glad-hand

[ glad-hand ]
/ ˈglædˌhænd /
Informal.

verb (used with object)

to greet warmly.
to greet in an insincerely effusive manner.

verb (used without object)

to greet others with enthusiasm, especially feigned enthusiasm: The candidate spent weeks glad-handing around the state.

Origin of glad-hand

First recorded in 1900–05

OTHER WORDS FROM glad-hand

glad-hand·er, noun

Words nearby glad-hand

glacé, glad, glad eye, glad hand, glad rags, glad-hand, glad-hander, gladbach-rheydt, gladbeck, gladden, gladdon

Definition for glad-hand (2 of 2)

glad hand

noun Informal.

a hearty welcome or enthusiastic reception, especially one that is effusive or hypocritical: Visiting dignitaries were being given the glad hand.

Origin of glad hand

First recorded in 1890–95

Words related to glad-hand

welcome

Example sentences from the Web for glad-hand

  • He certainly was a glad-hand artist, which is what a bank president has to be today—he's got to be a speaker and a handshaker.

    The Man Next Door |Emerson Hough

British Dictionary definitions for glad-hand

glad hand

noun

  1. a welcoming hand
  2. a welcome

verb glad-hand

(tr) to welcome by or as if by offering a hand

Idioms and Phrases with glad-hand

glad hand

A warm and hearty but often insincere welcome or greeting, as in Politicians are apt to give the glad hand to one and all. [Slang; late 1800s]