butter up
Definition
Verb: - To praise or flatter someone excessively, often with the insincere intention of gaining a favor, advantage, or something from them.
Usage
This phrasal verb describes the act of using insincere compliments to manipulate someone. It implies a calculated effort to make someone feel good so they are more likely to agree to a request. It is often used in informal contexts.
Examples
- Verb:
- He's trying to butter up the boss in hopes of getting a promotion.
- Don't think you can butter me up with compliments; I know you want to borrow my car.
- She buttered up her parents by cleaning the whole house before asking for money.
Advanced Usage
- "to butter someone up": The typical structure, where the object (the person being flattered) comes between "butter" and "up."
- The action is often transparent to observers, carrying a connotation of obvious and self-serving flattery.
Variants and Related Words
- Buttering-up (noun): The act or process of flattering someone excessively.
- His constant buttering-up of the manager was obvious to everyone in the office.
Synonyms
- Flatter: To praise someone excessively, especially from motives of self-interest.
- Suck up to (idiom, informal): To behave obsequiously towards someone to gain favor.
- Brown-nose (slang): To curry favor through obsequious behavior.
- Cajole: To persuade someone to do something by sustained coaxing or flattery.
Related Phrasal Verbs
(This word is itself a phrasal verb.)
Related Idioms
- Soft-soap (verb, informal): To use flattery to persuade someone.
- He tried to soft-soap his teacher into giving him an extension.
- Sweet-talk (verb): To persuade someone by saying nice things, often insincerely.
- She can sweet-talk anyone into doing what she wants.
Verb
-
flatter with the intention of getting something
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