butter up

present singular third person butters up · participle present buttering up · participle past buttered up · past buttered up

1. figurativelyinformaltransitiveTo flatter, especially with the intent of personal gain.

   He takes every opportunity to butter up the boss.

   3 more examples

   I'm not a cobb of corn, so you can stop butterin' me up. I don't need you to tell me how good my coffee is.

   1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by Jimmie (Quentin Tarantino)

   Do you mind if I butter you up a little before I answer that question?

   2004, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, spoken by Steve Zissou (Bill Murray)

   Joe Hart finished the night without a single grass stain on his kit and it was just a surprise the team did not butter up their goal difference even more once Welbeck had clipped in Lambert's through-ball five minutes into the second half.

   2013 September 6, Daniel Taylor, “Danny Welbeck leads England's rout of Moldova but hit by Ukraine ban”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: kiss up, suck up, toady, blandander, blandish, cajole, sweeten, fast-talk