Definition
A food, beverage, drug or activity that helps people feel more comfortable in social occasions.
Origins
By a metaphor in which facilitating human social interaction is portrayed as lubricating machinery (e.g., oiling the gears, greasing the wheels); in this regard, compare also lubrication payment.
In Context
- "Beer's qualities as a “social lubricant” should play an important role in the debate on the harms of alcohol, according to the boss of Heineken."
See Also
- icebreaker