curry favor

1. “Currying favor” with someone means trying to ingratiate oneself by fawning over that person: “The ambassador curried favor with the dictator by praising his construction projects.”

Idioms and Phrases

Seek gain or advancement by fawning or flattery, as in Edith was famous for currying favor with her teachers . This expression originally came from the Old French estriller fauvel , “curry the fallow horse,” a beast that in a 14th-century allegory stood for duplicity and cunning. It came into English about 1400 as curry favel —that is, curry (groom with a currycomb) the animal—and in the 1500s became the present term.

Example Sentences

Some may be under the mistaken impression that if they curry favor now, maybe they will be spared retribution under a Trump presidency.

From Salon

The reporting requirements are meant to allow timely public scrutiny over these “behested payments,” which might be an attempt to curry favor with elected officials.

From Los Angeles Times

Some may wish to curry favor with Trump, or fear his retribution if they don’t support him.

From Los Angeles Times

But as with everything else associated with Trump, the whole project appears to be one part grift and one part vengeance with loyalists already backstabbing each other and currying favor with the Dear Leader.

From Salon

Right-wing media will be a propaganda arm of the government and some sectors of the media will fall in line, as they will want to curry favor and hold onto their sources.

From Salon