brown-nose

[broun-nohz] /ˈbraʊnˌnoʊz/

verb (used without object), brown-nosed, brown-nosing.

to curry favor; behave obsequiously.

verb (used with object), brown-nosed, brown-nosing.

to seek favors from (a person) in an obsequious manner; fawn over.

noun

Also, brown-noser. a toady; sycophant.

Compare ass-kissing.

Origin

1935-40; brown + nose

British Dictionary definitions for brown nose

brown nose

noun

(vet science) a form of light sensitization in cattle

brown-nose

verb

to be abjectly subservient (to); curry favour (with)

noun

an abjectly subservient person; sycophant

Word Origin

C20: from the notion that a subservient person kisses the backside of the person with whom he or she is currying favour

Word Origin and History for brown nose

brown-nose

also brownnose, 1939, American English colloquial, said to be military slang originally, from brown (adj.) + nose (n.), "from the implication that servility is tantamount to having one's nose in the anus of the person from whom advancement is sought" [Webster, 1961]. Related: Brown-noser, brown-nosing (both 1950).

Slang definitions & phrases for brown nose

brown-nose

noun

also brown-noser: He got there by being a pious and effective brown-nose

verb

To flatter and pamper in order to gain approval and advantage; curry favor; apple-polish: He's just like any other person who's in a position to screw you. You gotta brown nose

[1930s+ Military academy students; fr the color of feces presumably acquired when one has one's nose at the flatteree's anus]

Idioms and Phrases with brown nose

brown nose

Solicit favor obsequiously, toady. For example, Harry was always brown nosing, but it didn't help his grades. This term originated in the military in the late 1930s, where it meant “to curry favor”; it alludes to ass-kissing when the backside being kissed is less than clean. Despite its scatological origin, today this slangy term is not considered particularly vulgar.