prime the pump
Verb
Meaning
(economics) To engage in deficit spending [from 1930s].
To give something in order to create the conditions where others will give in return.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see prime, the, pump.
Source: en.wiktionary.orgSynonyms
Related terms
Examples
What the president announced yesterday, is that somehow magically, if we just continue to prime the pump of taxpayer dollars, we're going to see magically an economic recovery.
Good thinkers always prime the pump of ideas. They always look for things to get the thinking process started, because what you put in always impacts what comes out.