Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for golden handshake

golden handshake

noun

  1. a special incentive, as generous severance pay, given to an older employee as an inducement to elect early retirement.
  2. the giving or offering of such an incentive.


golden handshake

noun

  1. informal.
    a sum of money, usually large, given to an employee, either on retirement in recognition of long or excellent service or as compensation for loss of employment
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of golden handshake1

First recorded in 1955–60
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Generous severance pay to an employee, often as an incentive for early retirement. For example, With a dwindling school population, the town decided to offer golden handshakes to some of the teachers . This slangy business term dates from the mid-1900s. A close relative is golden parachute , a generous severance agreement for an executive in the event of sudden dismissal owing to a merger or similar circumstance. This expression first appeared about 1980.

Advertisement

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement