apple-polishers
Eager favor-seekers
Apple-polishers are people who curry favor through flattery or servile attention, especially toward authority figures.
The image comes from the old practice of students bringing polished apples to teachers.
The term is mildly contemptuous: The boss surrounded himself with apple-polishers who never challenged his ideas.
Servile flatterer of superiors
- toadyObsequious flatterer seeking favor
- fawnerOne who flatters servilely
- brownnoserServile flatterer seeking favor
- suck-upOne who flatters superiors
lickspittle · yes-man · groveler · flunkey · lackey · minion · doormat · puppet
Excessive insincere flattery
- bootlickingServile flattery for advantage
- brownnosingServile flattery seeking favor
- toadyingObsequious behavior seeking favor
- grovelingDemeaning self-abasement before another
kowtowing · sweet-talking · schmoozing · glad-handing · ingratiating · pandering · soft-soaping
Servilely attentive to superiors
- servileExcessively submissive, lacking independence
- sycophanticServilely flattering
- unctuousExcessively and insincerely earnest
- smarmyInsincerely ingratiating
oleaginous · deferential · subservient · slavish · cringing · mealy-mouthed · glib · slick
Crafty and calculating
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- anglingRecreational hook-and-line pursuit
positioning · leveraging · exploiting · politicking · networking · careerist · string-pulling · jockeying
bootlicker
Servile flatterer of superiors
- toadyObsequious flatterer seeking favor
- fawnerOne who flatters servilely
- brownnoserServile flatterer seeking favor
suck-up · lickspittle · yes-man · groveler · flunkey · lackey · minion · doormat · puppet · hanger-on
fawning
Excessive insincere flattery
- bootlickingServile flattery for advantage
- brownnosingServile flattery seeking favor
- toadyingObsequious behavior seeking favor
groveling · kowtowing · sweet-talking · schmoozing · glad-handing · ingratiating · pandering · soft-soaping
obsequious
Servilely attentive to superiors
- servileExcessively submissive, lacking independence
- sycophanticServilely flattering
- unctuousExcessively and insincerely earnest
smarmy · oleaginous · deferential · subservient · slavish · cringing · mealy-mouthed · glib · slick · oily
scheming
Crafty and calculating
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
angling · positioning · leveraging · exploiting · politicking · networking · careerist · string-pulling · jockeying · currying
- sycophantssycophant, sycophants, toady, toadies, bootlicker
apple-polishersrebels
Armed opposition fighters
mavericks · troublemakers · insubordinates · rabble-rousers · mutineers
apple-polishersstraight shooters
Forthright, honest individuals
truth-tellers · honest brokers · critics · naysayers · detractors
apple, apples, polish, polishes, polished, polishing, polisher, apple-polish, apple-polisher