currying favour
Ingratiating oneself deliberately
Currying favour is seeking approval or advancement through flattery and obsequious behavior.
The phrase has nothing to do with the spice—it comes from grooming a horse named Fauvel, a symbol of cunning in medieval allegory.
To curry favour is to ingratiate yourself with someone in power: He's always currying favour with the boss.
Also spelled currying favor.
- bootlickingServile flattery for advantage
- arse-lickingServile flattery for advantage
- kissing upInsincere flattery for advantage
- sweet-talkingPersuading through flattery
- soft soapPersuasion through excessive flattery
laying it on thick · ass-kissing · sucking up · flattery · coaxing · wheedling · patronage · courtly behavior · buttering up · manipulation · self-interest · political lobbying · ingratiation · brown-nosing · insincerity · kowtowing · sycophancy · pandering
currying favourdefiance
Open resistance to authority
standing one's ground · insubordination · rebellion · dissent · burning bridges
currying favourcandour
Honest, direct expression
forthrightness · telling it like it is · brutal honesty · self-respect · integrity
curry, favour, favor, favours, favors, favourable, favorable, favourably, favorably