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• glad hand
  glad hand

  noun

  a hearty welcome or enthusiastic reception, especially one that is effusive or hypocritical.
• glad-hand
  glad-hand

  verb (used with object)

  to greet warmly.

glad hand

¹ American  

noun

Informal.

1. a hearty welcome or enthusiastic reception, especially one that is effusive or hypocritical.

   Visiting dignitaries were being given the glad hand.

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glad-hand ² American  

[glad-hand] / ˈglædˌhænd /

verb (used with object)

1. to greet warmly.

2. to greet in an insincerely effusive manner.

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verb (used without object)

1. to greet others with enthusiasm, especially feigned enthusiasm.

   The candidate spent weeks glad-handing around the state.

glad hand British  

noun

1. 1. a welcoming hand

   2. a welcome

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verb

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

glad hand Idioms  

1. 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]

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Other Word Forms

• glad-hander
  noun

Etymology

Origin of glad hand¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Origin of glad-hand²

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

glad hand glad-hand

Soccer guided Infantino around the Zurich Hallenstadion to glad hand with delegations from FIFA’s then-207 member associations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

But for all the talk of South Carolina’s penchant for dirty tricks, the state also values the glad hand.

From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2024

He doesn’t swing at big checkbooks or institutions, certainly nothing solid enough to bruise the glad hand.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 30, 2015

They dither, horse trade, glad hand and posture.

From Forbes ● Jul. 11, 2013

In fact, after seeing the make-up of the fierce fire-eating sheriff, I'm more than ever glad I gave poor old Pete the glad hand, and helped him on his way.

From Chums in Dixie or The Strange Cruise of a Motorboat by Rathborne, St. George

So they have jumped at the chance to glad-hand voters, kiss babies, and hobnob with activists at backyard barbecues and meetups at the chain of Pizza Ranch restaurants that have become an Iowa campaign staple.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 10, 2023

I climbed up a ladder abandoned by a photographer and watched President Biden glad-hand and take selfies with his supporters.

From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2022

Biden’s newly packed travel schedule has seemed to energize a 79-year-old president who relishes the opportunity to work a rope line and glad-hand voters.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2022

Eric Olson, an expert on Central America, said Biden’s approach then was to glad-hand and amiably try to persuade the presidents to cooperate with the U.S. goal of reducing migration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2022

So Mike belonged to the long, long glad-hand line.

From How To Write Special Feature Articles A Handbook for Reporters, Correspondents and Free-Lance Writers Who Desire to Contribute to Popular Magazines and Magazine Sections of Newspapers by Bleyer, Willard Grosvenor