To butter someone up
Meaning: To flatter someone to win their favor.
Language: English
Literally: To butter someone up
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Possibly from an ancient Indian custom of throwing butter at statues of the gods to seek their goodwill.
Equivalents in other languages
- Chinese: 拍马屁 (pāi mǎpì) — literally: To pat the horse's rump
- Korean: 비행기를 태우다 (bihaenggireul taeuda) — literally: To put someone on an airplane
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Das ist nicht das Gelbe vom Ei — It's not ideal; not quite good enough.
- Alles in Butter — Everything is fine and under control.
- Jemandem auf den Keks gehen — To get on someone's nerves.
- Estar frito — To be fed up or worn out.
- Tener la sartén por el mango — To be the one in control.
- Седьмая вода на киселе (Sed'maya voda na kisele) — A very distant relative.
More English idioms
- Russian roulette — Any high-risk activity undertaken needlessly, where disaster may strike without warning.
- pull back the curtain — To expose a hidden truth or reality behind an appearance.
- present company excepted — These remarks do not apply to anyone currently present in this conversation.
- on sufferance — Tolerated reluctantly and only because one has no better choice.
- set in stone — Unchangeable and permanent, fixed beyond modification.
- friend of Bill W. — A recovering alcoholic, especially one in Alcoholics Anonymous.