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You may well have heard someone using the term “curry favor” during a conversation and you may also have thought about what this saying means. We are going to reveal the meaning of this term as well as showing you some examples of how it can be used. We will also find out the origin of the phrase and where it first appeared.
“Curry Favor” Meaning, Origin and Usage
Key Takeaways
- The phrase “curry favor” means to seek to gain approval, affection, or advantage from someone, often through flattery or ingratiating behavior. It implies an attempt to win someone over, typically someone in a position of power or authority, to obtain a favorable outcome or treatment.
“Curry Favor” Meaning
The phrase “curry favor” means to seek to gain someone’s approval or favor through flattery, ingratiation, or other means of persuasion. It often implies that the effort to win favor is somewhat manipulative or self-serving.
Examples:
- “He tried to curry favor with his boss by complimenting her ideas during the meeting.”
- “They were accused of currying favor with the committee to secure their project funding.”
Origin of This Term
The term likely originates from the 16th century, derived from the word “curry,” which in this context refers to “to seek to gain” or “to flatter.” It is believed to have been influenced by the practice of “curry” as in grooming or caring for a horse, which was a way to gain favor with someone of higher status, such as a lord or a nobleman.
Usage of “Curry Favor”
- In a workplace context:
“He always tries to curry favor with the management by volunteering for every project, hoping to get noticed.”
- Talking about political behavior:
“The politician was accused of trying to curry favor with voters by making unrealistic promises.”
- During a discussion about relationships:
“She often curries favor with her friends by planning their outings, but it feels a bit forced.”
- In a school setting:
“The student tried to curry favor with the teacher by complimenting her teaching style.”
Related Terms to “Curry Favor”
- Ingratiate oneself – to bring oneself into favor with someone by flattering or trying to please them.
- Kiss up – a colloquial phrase meaning to flatter someone in authority to gain favor.
- Suck up – another informal term for trying to win someone’s favor through excessive flattery or sycophancy.
- Brown-nose – a derogatory term for someone who flatters or seeks to please those in power.
- Flatter – to compliment excessively or insincerely, often with the intent of gaining favor.
- Toady – a person who flatters others to gain favor, often seen as sycophantic.
- Play up to – to seek to impress or ingratiate oneself with someone, particularly someone in authority.
- Fawn over – to show excessive affection or flattery towards someone, often to gain their approval.
- Seek approval – to attempt to gain someone’s positive regard or acceptance.
- Win over – to persuade someone to support or approve of you, often through charm or flattery.
Other Ways to Say “Curry Favour”
You might be interested in looking at other ways you can express the meaning of the term curry favour, here are some examples of this.
- Sucking up
- Ingratiate oneself
- Please
“Curry Favor” Examples
Examples in Statements
We will now take a look at some examples of how the term curry favour might work in a sentence.
The first example is a statement being made by someone at work.
- Look at Ian trying to curry favour with the boss by doing all these extra hours.
The next statement is one being made in a blog post.
- The workers tried to curry favour with the big boss in order to get a pay rise.
Other examples:
- He brought her some flowers, hoping to curry favor with her.
- He licked the dust in order to curry favor with the political boss.
-
Effort curry favour with the matter, why become a thankless thing?
- He’s always trying to curry favour with the director by telling her how talented she is.
Conversation Examples
There are a huge variety of conversations in which the term curry favour might be used. We will now take a look at some examples of things you might hear.
The first is a conversation taking place between two colleagues.
- Person 1: “Why do you keep doing all of John’s tasks?”
- Person 2: “I’m trying to curry favor so that he will cover my shift next week.”
The next conversation is happening between two friends.
- Person 1: “You have been being especially nice to me recently.”
- Person 2: “Can’t a friend be nice?”
- Person 1: “It feels like you are attempting to curry favor for something.”
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