oiled

a well-oiled machine

Someone or something that functions very well or efficiently. Trudy and I have been working together in the attendance office for so long, we're like a well-oiled machine at this point.
See also: machine

like a well-oiled machine

Said of someone or something that functions very well or efficiently. Trudy and I have been working together in the attendance office for so long, we're like a well-oiled machine at this point.
See also: like, machine

oil (one's) hand

To bribe one (to do or facilitate something), as or as if by slipping money into one's hand. A: "How are we going to get a table without a reservation?" B: "Don't worry, I oiled the hostess' hand, and she promised us a table in no time." I oiled my brother's hand to stop him from telling Mom that I had a party while she was away.
See also: hand, oil

oil (one's) palm

To bribe one (to do or facilitate something), as or as if by slipping money into one's hand. A: "How are we going to get a table without a reservation?" B: "Don't worry, I oiled the hostess' palm, and she promised us a table in no time." I oiled my brother's palm to stop him from telling Mom that I had a party while she was away.
See also: oil, palm

oil it

slang To work or study into the very late hours of the night or the very early hours of the next morning. An adaptation of the phrase "burn the midnight oil," which means the same. I tend not to spend too much time studying for exams, typically just oiling it the night before instead. If you keep oiling it this way, you're going to end up digging yourself an early grave!
See also: oil

oil the wheels

To facilitate, expedite, ease, or aid something or some process; to make or help things run more smoothly or more easily. Primarily heard in UK. Hopefully this shift in public opinion will help oil the wheels of immigration reform. The clients have been reluctant to sign on for another year, so we're offering a cash incentive to help oil the wheels.
See also: oil, wheel

oil up

To cover someone or something in oil, especially in preparation for some task or activity. A noun or pronoun can be used between "oil" and "up." That bike's been sitting in the shed for months, so make sure you oil up the chain before you take it out again. They oiled the muscly model up so that his pecs and biceps would shine nicely for the photo shoot.
See also: oil, up

well oiled

1. Operating very smoothly or efficiently. Sometimes hyphenated (and always before a noun). Their whole campaign has been well-oiled from the very beginning. The company has become a well-oiled machine under her direction.
2. Drunk. Sometimes hyphenated (and always before a noun). We spent the evening getting well oiled on local liqueurs. Several well-oiled patrons stumbled out of the bar, itching for a fight.
See also: oiled, well
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

oil the wheels

BRITISH or

grease the wheels

mainly AMERICAN
If someone or something oils the wheels or greases the wheels of a process or system, they help things to happen successfully and without problems. The Bank of Amsterdam, a government bank owned by the city, had been established specifically to help oil the wheels of commerce. This effectively oils the wheels of diplomacy. Credit cards greased the wheels of the consumer boom by allowing us to buy what we want, when we want.
See also: oil, wheel
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

oil the ˈwheels

(British English) (American English grease the ˈwheels) help something to happen easily and without problems, especially in business or politics: He doesn’t worry about bureaucratic procedures because he knows just where to oil the wheels.
See also: oil, wheel
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

oil up

v.
To coat something thoroughly with oil: The mechanic oiled up the engine. The therapist oiled my back up and worked out the knots in my muscles.
See also: oil, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

oil it

tv. to study all night. (Literally, burn the midnight oil.) I have a test tomorrow, and I really have to oil it tonight.
See also: oil

oiled

mod. alcohol or drug intoxicated. She’s not just drunk; she’s totally oiled.

well-oiled

1. mod. alcohol intoxicated. He was well-oiled and couldn’t stand up.
2. mod. talkative. She was sure well-oiled. I thought she’d never stop talking.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • a well-oiled machine
  • like a well-oiled machine
  • lean, mean (something) machine
  • have down to a T
  • have (something) down to a T
  • take attendance
  • have (something) off to a fine art
  • have (something) down to a fine art
  • have something down to a fine art
  • a peg to hang (something) on
References in periodicals archive
Her own histopathology studies show that "the tissues of fish in the oiled areas are more screwed up than tissues from fish in unoiled,' she says.
As a result, heavily oiled fur can lose 70 percent of its insulating value.
And that means that unless a heavily oiled sea otter leaves the water, it will die quickly.
Research in the wake of the spill has also shown these otters keenly vulnerable to oil poisoning -- through inhalation of hydrocarbon fumes, ingestion of petroleum while grooming oiled fur, and absorption of oil's constituent chemicals through their skin.
Depending on the site, 50 to 100 percent of the seals in oiled regions of the Sound also acquired oil-stained pelts.
Assays of internal contamination, however, showed that concentrations of hydrocarbon breakdown products were seven to 12 times higher in the bile of seals from oiled regions than in seals from other areas in the Gulf of Alaska.
While not conclusive, she says, the brain data offer strong circumstantial evidence that oil claimed the lives -- probably by drowning -- of 300 to 350 harbor seals, or 30 percent of those who hauled out onto oiled beaches during the spill.
Fry said half of those living in the oiled regions were killed outright, and most that survived have failed to breed.
Other researchers described signs of "functional sterility" in pink salmon and herring from heavily oiled areas.