curries favor
Ingratiates through flattery
To curry favor is to seek approval or advancement through flattery and obsequious behavior.
The phrase comes from grooming—curry meaning to brush a horse's coat—combined with a corruption of an old French term.
Someone who curries favor with the boss is trying to get on their good side through excessive agreeableness: He's always currying favor with management.
- complimentWords expressing approval
- butter upFlatter insincerely for advantage
- suck upFlatter for advantage
- brown noseFawn obsequiously for favor
- kiss upFlatter obsequiously for gain
wheedle · praise · fawn · lay it on thick · deception · sycophancy · motivation · sweet-talk · influence · play politics · adulation · cajole · win over · toady · ingratiate · apple-polish · impression management · grovel
curries favorantagonizes
Actively creates hostility
alienates · provokes · offends · rocks the boat · rubs the wrong way
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