mutual admiration society

Idioms  

1. A relationship in which two people have strong feelings of esteem for each other and often exchange lavish compliments. The term may signify either genuine or pretended admiration, as in Each of them praised the other's book—it was a real mutual admiration society. The expression was invented by Henry David Thoreau in his journal (1851) and repeated by Oliver Wendell Holmes and others.

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Example Sentences

Instead, as Smith and McAdoo met the media in their respective cities Thursday, they gave off the vibe of a mutual admiration society.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 8, 2022

Set in the late 1930s in Albert Einstein’s Princeton, N.J., home, Brevoort’s 100-minute play concerns the real-life mutual admiration society between two virtuosos, the maestro of theoretical physics and the revered contralto Marian Anderson.

From Washington Post • Oct. 7, 2021

Miami story line is shaping up as little more than a meeting of the mutual admiration society, albeit with a championship at stake.

From Washington Times • Sep. 29, 2020

That comfort and warmth is what the Highwomen want to translate to their audience, inviting all kinds of listeners aboard what they call their “pirate ship” and taking their mutual admiration society public.

From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2019

I have a job to do and will not get very far forward as one half of a mutual admiration society.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove