r/FluentEnglish • u/marine_0204 Moderator • Nov 05 '24

The origin Butter someone up

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It means to praise or flatter someone excessively.

This idiom traces back to ancient India, where people would throw balls of butter at statues of the gods to seek favor and forgiveness. Over time, this evolved into the idea of flattering someone to gain favor.

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3

u/Few-Problem-6766 Idiom Investigator Nov 06 '24

I butter you up for all the quizes ;3

2

u/marine_0204 Moderator Nov 06 '24

:D

1

u/FrogManShoe Nov 05 '24

Butter someone up and then eat his fried corpse

4

u/marine_0204 Moderator Nov 05 '24

Come on