glib [L16th] There are a number of other words, such as greasy, oily, and slimy, that link the idea of smoothness and slipperiness with insincere speech or behaviour. To give a glib answer is to speak fluently but insincerely and shallowly; but one of its first meanings, in the late 16th century, was ‘smooth or unimpeded’. It is ultimately of Germanic origin and related to Dutch glibberig ‘slippery’, and German glibberig ‘slimy’.