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brown-noser

 [broun-nohz]   Origin

brown-nose

   [broun-nohz] verb, brown-nosed, brown-nos·ing, noun Slang.
verb (used without object)
1.
to curry favor; behave obsequiously.
verb (used with object)
2.
to seek favors from (a person) in an obsequious manner; fawn over.

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Brown-noser is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
noun
3.
Also, brown-nos·er. a toady; sycophant.
Compare ass-kissing.

Origin:
1935–40; brown + nose
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

brown-nose
also brownnose, 1939, Amer.Eng. colloquial, said to be military slang originally, from brown + nose, "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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

brown-nose definition


  1. n.
    and brownie; brown-noser. a sycophant; one who flatters for self-serving motives. : You are just a plain old brown-nose. , Will some brown-noser please try to get the teacher to put off the test?
  2. tv. & in.
    to curry favor with someone; to be a sycophant. : Don keeps brown-nosing, and the professor pretends not to notice.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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