polisher

apple-polisher

A flatterer. (Apples are a typical gift for teachers.) That kid is always quick to help the teacher with any little thing—what an apple polisher! Your dad was the furthest thing from an apple-polisher when he was in school. He had detention all the time! Quit being such an apple-polisher, it's not going to get you a better grade or anything.

polish the apple

To attempt to curry favor through insincere or excessive flattery or praise. An allusion to the clichéd image of a student presenting their teacher with a gift of a shiny red apple to instill a good impression. Brian is always polishing the apple with the boss, and for what—some vague, vain hope of a promotion or raise?

See also: apple, polish

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

apple-polisher

Fig. a flatterer. Doesn't that wimpy apple-polisher know how stupid he looks? Everybody at my office seems to be an apple-polisher but me.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

polish the apple

Try to win favor through flattery, as in It may help your standing with the boss if you polish the apple. This expression gave rise to the phrase apple polishing. The idiom alludes to the practice of schoolchildren bringing their teacher the gift of a bright, shiny apple. [c. 1920]

See also: apple, polish

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

apple-polisher

n. a flatterer. Everybody at the office seems to be an apple-polisher but me.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.