shine up to (one)
shine up to (one)
To attempt to curry favor through insincere or excessive flattery or praise. Since I'm deciding who gets the promotion, Crystal has been shining up to me by buying me coffee all week. You need to quit shining up to the teacher like that, or you're going to start getting bullied by the other kids.
See also: shine, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
shine up to someone
Fig. to try to gain someone's favor by being extra nice. John is a nice guy, except that he's always trying to shine up to the professor. Mary never tries to shine up to the manager.
See also: shine, up
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
shine up to
Try to impress or please, be attentive to, as in George was always shining up to the teacher, or Her father warned her about men shining up to her for her money. [Colloquial; late 1800s]
See also: shine, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
shine up to
Informal To try to impress or please: shined up to the boss, hoping to get a raise.
See also: shine, up
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
- shine up to
- polish the apple
- cotton up
- cotton up to
- cotton up to (one)
- brown nose
- brownnose
- brown-nose
- polisher
- flattery will get you nowhere