kiss someone's ass

present singular third person kisses someone's ass · participle present kissing someone's ass · participle past kissed someone's ass · past kissed someone's ass

1. idiomaticslangTo flatter someone (especially a superior) in an obsequious manner, and to support their every opinion to gain their favor.

   […] Mr. Trump said he would not tell a “vicious joke” about the chief justice, who was present. “I’m going to kiss his ass for a long time,” the president said. That strategy did not seem to work.

   2026 February 20, Adam Liptak, “The Supreme Court’s Declaration of Independence”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 Feb 2026

   Synonyms: brown-nose, kiss someone's ring, lick someone's ass, apple-polish, bootlick, bow and scrape, brown-nose, butter up