| Colorful English! |
| Word
or Phrase: | Part of Speech: |
Idiom or General?: | Usage? | Restricted? |
| brownnose | verb, transitive | idiomatic/slang | fairly
common | No
except it may be hurtful to such a
person |
| Meaning: |
| to try to get the
favor of a teacher or superior, often by extreme means, and by a person
usually not popular with the group |
| Example(s): |
| Did you see Bill
brownnose the teacher! Offering to carry her
books to class is just too much. |
Note: This comes from the idea of a person kissing the behind
of another person he/she wishes to get favor from. Brownnoser is the noun form for such a person. |