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apple-polish

American  
[ap-uhl-pol-ish] / ˈæp əlˌpɒl ɪʃ /

verb (used without object)

  1. to curry favor with someone, especially in an obsequious or flattering manner.

verb (used with object)

  1. to curry favor with (someone).

Other Word Forms

  • apple polisher noun
  • apple-polisher noun

Etymology

Origin of apple-polish

First recorded in 1925–30; apple ( def. ) + polish ( def. )

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.