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

Regarding the Chargers trying to curry favor and regain the loyalty of their old San Diego fans, some advice: If you want to keep your fans, don’t ditch your hometown!

From Los Angeles Times

Still, the measure is needed, the lawmakers said, because there are no rules that specifically target solicitation of gifts or payments by individuals and companies to try to curry favor with the president.

From Los Angeles Times

House Minority Leader Jeffries has signaled zeal to curry favor with corporate billionaires, contrary to the wishes of the Democratic base.

From Salon

Several of the party’s candidates scurried around the Anaheim convention center, trying to curry favor with the state’s most liberal activists while also drawing contrasts with their rivals.

From Los Angeles Times

Staying true to the South Korean right’s self-identification as the staunchly pro-U.S. political camp, Kim has accused Lee of seeking to curry favor with China at the expense of the U.S.-South Korea relationship.

From Los Angeles Times