jemandem Honig um den Mund schmieren
to butter someone up; to flatter someone
Origin
Since the 12th/13th c.; the origin is uncertain. Duden points among other things to the soothing feeding of small children; other readings cite rewarding trained (circus) bears with honey.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- 'am liebsten' (like doing most of all)Steigerung: 'am liebsten' (etwas am liebsten tun)
- Genitive preposition 'statt' (instead of)Genitivpräposition 'statt'
Examples
Er schmiert dem um den .
He's constantly buttering up the boss.