brown-nose

[broun-nohz]

verb (used without object)

brown-nosed, brown-nosing 

1. to curry favor; behave obsequiously.

verb (used with object)

brown-nosed, brown-nosing 

1. to seek favors from (a person) in an obsequious manner; fawn over.

noun

1. Also brown-noser. a toady; sycophant.

brown-nose

¹

verb

1. to be abjectly subservient (to); curry favour (with)

noun

1. an abjectly subservient person; sycophant

brown nose

²

noun

1. vet science a form of light sensitization in cattle

Word History and Origins

Origin of brown nose¹

First recorded in 1935–40; brown + nose

Word History and Origins

Origin of brown nose¹

C20: from the notion that a subservient person kisses the backside of the person with whom he or she is currying favour

Idioms and Phrases

Solicit favor obsequiously, toady. For example, Harry was always brown nosing, but it didn't help his grades. This term originated in the military in the late 1930s, where it meant “to curry favor”; it alludes to ass-kissing when the backside being kissed is less than clean. Despite its scatological origin, today this slangy term is not considered particularly vulgar.