Oil of angels n.
A gift or bribe of money, the reference being of course to the coin, angel.
(The angel was an English gold coin introduced by Edward IV in 1465. It was patterned after the French angelot or ange, which had been issued since 1340. The name derived from its representation of the archangel Michael slaying a dragon.)
“Lawyers are troubled with the heat of the liver, which makes the palms of their hands so hot, that they cannot be cool’d, unlesse they be rub’d with the oile of angels.”
Greene, Quip for Upstart Courtier.
“I have seen him
Cap a pie gallant, and his stripes wash’d off
With oil of angels.”
Massinger, Duke of Milan.
A Supplementary English Glossary, 1881
eggblatbagbee's blog 