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Curry favor   /kˈəri fˈeɪvər/   Listen
noun
favor  n.  
1.
Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. "Hath crawled into the favor of the king."
2.
The act of countenancing, or the condition of being countenanced, or regarded propitiously; support; promotion; befriending. "But found no favor in his lady's eyes." "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."
3.
A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; an act of grace or good will, as distinct from justice or remuneration. "Beg one favor at thy gracious hand."
4.
Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity. "I could not discover the lenity and favor of this sentence."
5.
The object of regard; person or thing favored. "All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, His chief delight and favor."
6.
A gift or present; something bestowed as an evidence of good will; a token of love; a knot of ribbons; something worn as a token of affection; as, a marriage favor is a bunch or knot of white ribbons or white flowers worn at a wedding. "Wear thou this favor for me, and stick it in thy cap."
7.
Appearance; look; countenance; face. (Obs.) "This boy is fair, of female favor."
8.
(Law) Partiality; bias.
9.
A letter or epistle; so called in civility or compliment; as, your favor of yesterday is received.
10.
pl. Love locks. (Obs.)
Challenge to the favor or Challenge for favor (Law), the challenge of a juror on grounds not sufficient to constitute a principal challenge, but sufficient to give rise to a probable suspicion of favor or bias, such as acquaintance, business relation, etc. See Principal challenge, under Challenge.
In favor of, upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of.
In favor with, favored, countenanced, or encouraged by.
To curry favor, to seek to gain favor by flattery, caresses, kindness, or officious civilities.
With one's favor, or By one's favor, with leave; by kind permission. "But, with your favor, I will treat it here."
Synonyms: Kindness; countenance; patronage; support; lenity; grace; gift; present; benefit.



verb
Curry  v. t.  (past & past part. curried; pres. part. currying)  
1.
To dress or prepare for use by a process of scraping, cleansing, beating, smoothing, and coloring; said of leather.
2.
To dress the hair or coat of (a horse, ox, or the like) with a currycomb and brush; to comb, as a horse, in order to make clean. "Your short horse is soon curried."
3.
To beat or bruise; to drub; said of persons. "I have seen him curry a fellow's carcass handsomely."
To curry favor, to seek to gain favor by flattery or attentions. See Favor, n.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Curry favor" Quotes from Famous Books



... place twenty years ago and of which I was an interested spectator, I may say that albeit I was mistaken; but the mistake was partaken of by many hundred thousands of my fellow-countrymen, who had not the courage subsequently to avow that they had been mistaken, but yet set to curry favor with the North by saying that they had always been their friends. The only apology—if apology I should choose to make—would be this: that that which I had to say against you I said while I was in your midst, when I was living at the Brevoort ...
— Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z • Various

... visits to us and his earnest efforts to curry favor with Sigmund by means of nondescript wool beasts, domestic or of prey, he had grown much nearer to us. He was the only intimate we had—the only person who came in and out of our quarters at any time; the only man who sat and smoked with us in an evening. At the ...
— The First Violin - A Novel • Jessie Fothergill

... informer!" exclaimed Elias, stepping back and staring at him. "You would appear as a traitor and coward in the eyes of the plotters and faint-hearted in the eyes of others. They would say that you planned the whole thing to curry favor. They ...
— The Social Cancer - A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere • Jose Rizal

... to their work as usual. One of the foremen (Dennison), who was anxious to curry favor with his employer, reported to him in an undertone in the office that everything was quiet. Robert nodded easily. He had not anticipated anything else. In the course of the morning he looked into the room where Ellen was employed, and saw with relief and concern her fair head before ...
— The Portion of Labor • Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

... like me, either," he said, "and never has from the first. I don't care. I came to the academy to learn, and not to curry favor with him. Willie Converse is another of his pets and is cutting up all the time, but he never sees it, or makes ...
— Pocket Island - A Story of Country Life in New England • Charles Clark Munn


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