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Synonyms

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

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.