curry favor

idiomatic phrase

: to seek to gain favor by flattery or attention
… eager to curry favor with superiors by reporting any trivial transgression.Robert Wallace and H. Keith Meltony
Instead of rolling back environmental regulations to curry favor with corporate interests, California has passed the toughest green laws in the nation …Alexander Nazaryan

Examples of curry favor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Cuomo has been the clear favorite as Democrats look to oust Adams, who was the subject of a federal corruption case that was eventually dropped by the Justice Department, drawing accusations that the mayor had sought to curry favor with President Trump. Brandon Conradis, The Hill, 23 June 2025 As well as handing Trump a win and some cash, the Bob Iger-run media giant’s resolution of the then-candidate’s defamation suit set the tone for Trump 2.0, even as companies and executives that have sought to curry favor found themselves just as quickly back in the firing line. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 28 May 2025 Theoretically, by making a large investment in TRUMP and driving up the price, critics worried, a politically motivated actor could discreetly curry favor with the president. Joel Khalili, Wired News, 23 May 2025 Staying true to the South Korean right’s self-identification as the staunchly pro-U.S. political camp, Kim has accused Lee of seeking to curry favor with China at the expense of the U.S.-South Korea relationship. Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for curry favor

Word History

Etymology

Note: The idiom curry favor is an alteration by folk etymology of curry favell, Middle English core favele, currey favel "to use insincere flattery to gain personal advantage," literally, "to curry the fallow-colored horse," a translation of Middle French estriller/torchier Fauvel "to use trickery, deceive," literally, "to curry/clean Fauvel" ("the fallow one," as a name for a horse). Old & Middle French falve, fauve "brownish-yellow, light brown (of an animal's coat)" and its derivatives have the additional meaning "false, hypocritical," probably in part due to the similarity in sound to faux "false"; hence la fauve asnele (ca. 1170) "hypocrisy, falsehood" (literally, "the fallow ass"), fauvoier (13th century) "to deceive," Old Occitan falveta "art of beguiling." Fauvel and Fauvain as horse's names are the focus of various idioms, as estriller Fauvel "to curry Fauvel," that denote duplicitous behavior. In the satirical French poem, Roman de Fauvel, composed ca. 1310-16, a horse or donkey named Fauvel becomes king by the grace of Fortuna ("Lady Fortune") and, having taken possession of the palace stable, is curried and cleaned by the hypocritical nobility and clergy of the realm.

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of curry favor was in 1557

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Curry favor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curry%20favor. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on curry favor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!