Definition

1. Noun:
   • A warm, friendly, and often effusive welcome or greeting, especially one that may be perceived as excessive, superficial, or insincere. It typically refers to a show of cordiality, often by a public figure or host, that is more about appearance or protocol than genuine feeling.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The politician went down the rope line, offering a glad hand to every potential voter.
  • I received a glad hand from the company's director, but I later found out he didn't even remember my name.
  • The event was full of glad hands and forced smiles.

Advanced Usage

• "to give someone the glad hand": To greet someone with conspicuous but possibly insincere warmth.
  • The manager gave the new interns the glad hand but provided no real support.
• "all glad hand and no substance": A critique describing a person or interaction that is friendly on the surface but lacks genuine depth or follow-through.
  • His campaign felt all glad hand and no substance.

Variants and Related Words

• Glad-hand (verb): To greet someone with a show of hearty cordiality.
  • He spent the evening glad-handing donors at the fundraiser.
• Glad-hander (noun): A person who habitually gives effusive, often insincere, greetings.
  • He's more of a glad-hander than a serious negotiator.

Synonyms

• Effusive welcome: An unrestrained, gushing greeting.
• Hearty greeting: A warmly expressed welcome.
• Cordial reception: A polite and friendly welcome.

Antonyms

• Cold shoulder: A display of indifference or disregard.
• Snub: An act of ignoring or rebuffing someone.

Related Idioms & Phrases

• "All smiles and handshakes": Similar in meaning, describing a superficially friendly demeanor.
  • The meeting was all smiles and handshakes, but no agreements were reached.

Noun

1. a warm welcome; may be insincere