buttering up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meanwhile, the buttering up risks making Mr. Trump look like a chump if the Chinese don’t give him something in return.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Besides, Colby has long displayed a knack for buttering up his superiors.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2025
The dinner service for the banquet dates back to George IV - and the motives, buttering up visiting dignitaries, are even older.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2022
The series opens with an epigraph from Nietzsche—“Without music, life would be a mistake”—and soon finds Cornelius buttering up his talent with monumental slabs of creamy fat.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 5, 2019
This little scene affords a charming opportunity for "buttering up" New England piety at the cheap expense of a libel upon the old country.
From Lands of the Slave and the Free Cuba, the United States, and Canada by Henry A. Murray
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