cotton up

cotton up to (one)

To pursue preferential treatment from one, often through flattery. Since I'm deciding who gets the promotion, Crystal has been cottoning up to me by buying me coffee all week. I'm not doing well at all in math this year, so it seems like cottoning up to the teacher is my only hope for a good grade! Don't cotton up to me with chocolates and sweet talk—just tell me what you want!

See also: cotton, to, up

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

cotton up

v.

To attempt to be friendly to someone or something: The teachers all cottoned up to the new principal.

See also: cotton, up

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.