🗓️ Idiom: Golden Handshake
💬 Meaning
- A large sum of money or generous benefits given to an employee when they leave a company, usually as part of retirement or redundancy.
- It’s often used as a financial incentive to encourage a senior employee to leave their position smoothly.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The CEO received a golden handshake worth millions when he stepped down.
- As part of the merger deal, several executives were offered golden handshakes.
- The company gave her a golden handshake after 25 years of loyal service.
🏛️ Origin
The term likely originated in the mid-20th century in the UK. “Golden” refers to the high value of the payment, and “handshake” shows a polite or formal farewell. It’s commonly used in business and media reports regarding executive departures.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
After the restructuring, several managers were offered a __________ handshake.
Answer
golden
2. Choose the correct meaning of “golden handshake”:
A) A secret business deal
B) A bonus for outstanding performance
C) A large payment to someone when they leave a company
Answer
C) A large payment to someone when they leave a company
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“He was given a large payout when he retired from the company.” → Change the sentence using: golden handshake
Answer
He was given a golden handshake when he retired from the company.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
👉 HR and Recruitment Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
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