oil the machine

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

to apply the facilitating resources, payments, social exchanges, or procedural accommodations needed to keep a system, bureaucracy, organisation, or set of relationships functioning smoothly and without friction; the mechanical metaphor implies that organisations and systems, like engines, require ongoing lubrication to prevent the friction that causes grinding, overheating, and breakdown; the phrase can carry both a neutral connotation of good relationship management and organisational maintenance, and a more cynical implication of using bribes, favours, or informal payments to secure cooperation from those who gatekeep access to resources or decisions