curry favor

Cultural  

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.”

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curry favor Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

President Trump has a reputation for trying to curry favor with investors.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

Hence, it is reasonable to think they will use January to tidy up their affairs and reset investor expectations to curry favor with Elliott.

From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025

That could curry favor with the 46% of consumers in the U.S.,

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025

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 • Jul. 26, 2025

Riders would be after them within the day, birds would take wing, and surely one of the river lords would want to curry favor with his father enough to take a hand.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin