apple-polishing

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ap·ple-pol·ish·ing

(ăp′əl-pŏl′ĭ-shĭng)

n. Informal

The seeking of favor through flattery; obsequiousness.

ap′ple-pol′ish·ing adj.

ap′ple-pol′ish·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in periodicals archive ?

By imbibing such spurious beliefs, many of us have unwittingly surrounded ourselves with apple-polishing toadies who keep fawning on us.

Offline in the online era

S: I'm afraid not, my dear apple-polishing apprentice.

How to promote hatred

When an apple-polishing young officer told Marshall that he'd worked long into the night to complete an assigned project, Marshall replied, "Any officer who cannot complete an assignment within normal working hours should have that failure noted in his fitness report."