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He advertised about the town, in long posters of a pink colour, that games of all sorts would take place here; and set to work a little battalion of men under his own eye. They erected greasy-poles for climbing, with smoked hams and local cheeses at the top.
The mud was unspeakable. The paths through the beet-fields were simply a succession of lumps, as slippery as a greasy pole, with huge pools everywhere.
(figurative) The work and scheming that leads to the position of prime minister or other leadership position.
1869, Benjamin Disraeli, quoted in Metaphor and Thought, Cambridge University Press →ISBN, page 238
I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole.
2009, Franz Bosbach, John R. Davis, Andreas Fahrmeir, Industrieentwicklung / Promotion of Industry: An Anglo-German Dialogue: Ein deutsch-britischer Dialog, Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 97:
Merkel sacrificed her “Thatcherite” agenda to get to the top of the greasy pole. One should be careful, however, with explanations that reduce Merkel to a mere tactician.
2013, Sasha Fenton, Unexplained Zodiac: The Inside Story of Your Sign, Charlesbridge, →ISBN, page 49:
They have strong opinions, which they moderate while climbing up the greasy pole of politics or advancement at work.
