cross your palm

cross your palm
   to bribe
   The derivation is probably from the request of a gypsy to have her palm crossed with silver, after which she will tell you your fortune.
   Divination falls within the sphere of influence of the devil, whose powers can be negated only by the use of the Christian cross. The gypsy keeps the silver.
   See also palm1.

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • cross — [krôs, kräs] n. [< ME cros & crois; cros < OE cros & ON kross, both < OIr cros < L crux (gen. crucis), a cross < IE * kreuk , extension of base * (s)ker , to turn, bend > L curvus; ME crois < OFr < L crux] 1. an upright… …   English World dictionary

  • cross — cross1 W2S2 [krɔs US kro:s] v ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(go from one side to another)¦ 2¦(cross a line etc)¦ 3¦(two roads/lines etc)¦ 4¦(legs/arms/ankles)¦ 5 cross somebody s mind 6 cross somebody s face 7 cross your fingers 8¦(breed of plant/animal)¦ 9 somebody …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • cross — cross1 W2S2 [krɔs US kro:s] v ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(go from one side to another)¦ 2¦(cross a line etc)¦ 3¦(two roads/lines etc)¦ 4¦(legs/arms/ankles)¦ 5 cross somebody s mind 6 cross somebody s face 7 cross your fingers 8¦(breed of plant/animal)¦ 9 somebody …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • cross — 1 verb 1 GO FROM ONE SIDE TO ANOTHER (I, T) to go or stretch from one side of something such as a road, river, room etc to the other: It took them four weeks to cross the desert. | Look both ways before you cross the road. | The railway line from …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • cross — I UK [krɒs] / US [krɔs] verb Word forms cross : present tense I/you/we/they cross he/she/it crosses present participle crossing past tense crossed past participle crossed *** 1) [intransitive/transitive] to go from one side of something such as a …   English dictionary

  • Palm Sunday — is a Christian moveable feast which always falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates an event reported by all four Canonical Gospels , and and Matthew quotes this passage from Zechariah when narrating the story of Jesus entry to… …   Wikipedia

  • cross someone's palm with silver — cross someone’s palm with silver humorous phrase to give money to someone, especially so that they will tell your fortune (=say what will happen to you in the future) Thesaurus: to spend or to pay moneysynonym Main entry: cross * * * often …   Useful english dictionary

  • cross somebody's palm with silver — ˌcross sb s ˌpalm with ˈsilver idiom to give sb money so that they will do you a favour, especially tell your ↑fortune Main entry: ↑crossidiom …   Useful english dictionary

  • palm — 1 noun (C) 1 the inside surface of your hand between the base of your fingers and your wrist: He held the pebble in the palm of his hand. 2 a palm tree 3 hold/have sb in the palm of your hand to have a strong influence on someone, so that they do …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • palm — palm1 [pa:m US pa:m, pa:lm] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(part of hand)¦ 2¦(tree)¦ 3 hold/have somebody in the palm of your hand 4 read somebody s palm ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1.) ¦(PART OF HAND)¦ the inside surface of your hand, in which you hold things in sb s palm ▪ She… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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