glad-handed; glad-handing; glad-hands
: to extend a glad hand to
candidates glad-handing everyone they meet
: to extend a glad hand
glad-handing as if he were running for mayor
: a warm welcome or greeting often prompted by ulterior reasons
Examples of glad-hand in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2024
Extended scenes of Michel working the room and greeting longtime customers go beyond glad-handing schmaltz to substantive discussions of his practices and influences and, above all, to his unfolding, for diners, of the Troisgros family’s multigenerational story.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
As the most powerful Chinese leader in generations, Xi Jinping rarely bothers to glad-hand or to try charming a crowd.
—David E. Sanger, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023
Ernest has come to Oklahoma to work with his uncle, William Hale (a terrific Robert De Niro), a well-to-do, glad-handing cattle rancher who lives with his small family in a large, gloomy house surrounded by prairie.
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
For one, Democrats — like many Republicans — simply didn’t trust the glad-handing Californian.
—Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2023
September 11, 2023 When world leaders assembled for their group photo at the G20 summit in New Delhi Sunday, there was no Xi Jinping to showcase China’s rise, no Vladimir Putin to glad-hand and lobby for Russia’s perspective on its war in Ukraine.
—Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Sep. 2023
Studios fly their movies’ headlining actors to these events to attend premieres, engage in countless interviews, accept tribute awards and glad-hand anyone who might help hype their projects.
—Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2023
Mike Pence’s former chief of staff made his pre-show rounds in the Milwaukee Bucks’ players’ parking garage, glad-handing reporters and offering sunny assessments of the ex-Vice President’s place in the field.
—Time, 24 Aug. 2023
Sharon Lafraniere, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2024
Arguably the most notorious figure from the game’s most storied rivalry flew from his South Florida home to Boston for Tuesday night’s game and was expected to glad hand a few Yankees before, for many of them, the biggest game of their lives.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2021
His medium, his material, is human frailty, the near end of original sin, and the tools of his trade are the glad hand, the scratched back, the padded envelope, the cut corner, and the jumped line.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2017
Verb
Inside the chamber, as the President walked the aisle to the podium, slowly, endlessly, glad-handing legislators, he was confronted by the Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wore a red MAGA hat despite the House’s ban on campaign paraphernalia.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2024
Extended scenes of Michel working the room and greeting longtime customers go beyond glad-handing schmaltz to substantive discussions of his practices and influences and, above all, to his unfolding, for diners, of the Troisgros family’s multigenerational story.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
As the most powerful Chinese leader in generations, Xi Jinping rarely bothers to glad-hand or to try charming a crowd.
—David E. Sanger, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023
Ernest has come to Oklahoma to work with his uncle, William Hale (a terrific Robert De Niro), a well-to-do, glad-handing cattle rancher who lives with his small family in a large, gloomy house surrounded by prairie.
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
For one, Democrats — like many Republicans — simply didn’t trust the glad-handing Californian.
—Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2023
September 11, 2023 When world leaders assembled for their group photo at the G20 summit in New Delhi Sunday, there was no Xi Jinping to showcase China’s rise, no Vladimir Putin to glad-hand and lobby for Russia’s perspective on its war in Ukraine.
—Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Sep. 2023
Studios fly their movies’ headlining actors to these events to attend premieres, engage in countless interviews, accept tribute awards and glad-hand anyone who might help hype their projects.
—Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2023
Mike Pence’s former chief of staff made his pre-show rounds in the Milwaukee Bucks’ players’ parking garage, glad-handing reporters and offering sunny assessments of the ex-Vice President’s place in the field.
—Time, 24 Aug. 2023
Noun
But for all the talk of South Carolina’s penchant for dirty tricks, the state also values the glad hand.
—Sharon Lafraniere, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2024
Arguably the most notorious figure from the game’s most storied rivalry flew from his South Florida home to Boston for Tuesday night’s game and was expected to glad hand a few Yankees before, for many of them, the biggest game of their lives.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2021
His medium, his material, is human frailty, the near end of original sin, and the tools of his trade are the glad hand, the scratched back, the padded envelope, the cut corner, and the jumped line.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'glad-hand.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Verb
1903, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Noun
circa 1895, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near glad-hand
Cite this Entry
“Glad-hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glad-hand. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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