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jemandem Honig ums Maul schmieren: butter someone up — meaning and examples | JadoLearn

Dictionaryjemandem Honig ums Maul schmieren

Quality-approved learning entryVerbLevel C1

jemandem Honig ums Maul schmieren

butter someone up

to flatter someone excessively, usually in order to gain favor or an advantage

IPA/ˈjeːmandəm ˈhoːnɪç ʊms maʊ̯l ˈʃmiːʁən/

Idiomatic stress often falls on Honig or Maul.

Meaning 1informal · 90%

to flatter someone excessively, usually in order to gain favor or an advantage

Er schmiert dem Chef ständig Honig ums Maul.

Lass dir nicht von jedem Honig ums Maul schmieren.

Vor der Verhandlung schmierte er beiden Parteien Honig ums Maul.

This is colloquial and somewhat coarse because Maul normally refers to an animal’s mouth. Avoid it in polite formal writing.

jemandem ständig Honig ums Maul schmieren — constantly butter someone up

The idiom implies excessive praise intended to win favor.

Choose one answer.

What does the idiom imply?

This is colloquial and somewhat coarse because Maul normally refers to an animal’s mouth. Avoid it in polite formal writing.