# What does ‘butter someone up’ mean?

To “butter someone up” means to flatter someone to gain favour. Recorded in English from the 18th century; Brewer's notes the metaphor of smoothing over with fat.

## What it means

- Recorded in English from the 18th century; Brewer's notes the metaphor of smoothing over with fat.

## Action steps

1. Usually critical of insincere flattery.
2. Example: He's just buttering up the boss for a promotion.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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