I think you got your han’ caught in a machine. If you don’t tell nobody what happened, we ain’t going to. But you jus’ tell an’ try to get this guy canned and we’ll tell ever’body, an’ then will you get the laugh.
– John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men, Chapter 3. After Lennie crushes Curley’s hand, Slim tells Curley what to do – say the injury was the result of an accident with a machine. If it were discovered that Lennie had injured Curley, Lennie would likely have been fired.