brown nose
Seek unearned approval
Brown nose means to curry favor through excessive flattery or obsequious behavior toward someone in authority.
The image is of someone with their nose so far up a superior's rear end that it becomes soiled.
As a noun, a brown nose (or brown-noser) is a person who engages in such behavior: He's such a brown-noser, always agreeing with everything the boss says.
The verb is often hyphenated: She brown-nosed her way to a promotion.
- sycophantServile praise-giver
- flatterPraise to please
- butter upFlatter insincerely for advantage
- kiss-upFawning flatterer for gain
- toadyObsequious flatterer seeking favor
bootlicker · suck-up · suck up to · ass kisser · fawn · grovel · apple-polisher · yes-man · schmooze · play politics · office politics · ingratiate · obsequious · servile · crawl · kowtow · praise · boss
- Color Idiomsblack sheep, blue moon, green light, red flag, white lie
- Nosenostril, nostrils, nares, nasal, nasal passage
- sycophantssycophant, sycophants, toady, toadies, bootlicker
- Office Typescorner office, executive suite, boardroom, conference room, private office
brown nosespeak truth to power
Criticize those in charge
be authentic · tell it like it is · lay it on the line · keep it real