apple polisher
A sycophant; a toady.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Nobody likes the apple polisher in our office.”
“She acts like an apple polisher whenever the director enters the room.”
“An apple polisher always agrees with everything the team leader says.”
“He is such an apple polisher that he brings the boss coffee every single morning.”
“The teacher ignored the apple polisher who constantly offered to clean the whiteboard just to get a better grade.”
“You should focus on your work instead of being an apple polisher and laughing at all of the supervisor's bad jokes.”
“The manager grew tired of the constant flattery from the office apple polisher, who hoped to secure a promotion through insincere praise.”
Attested from the 1920s, the term derives from the image of an obsequious schoolchild presenting a piece of fruit to a teacher. The practice of polishing the apple before the gift was made served as a visible indicator of the student's desire for preferential treatment. The idiom entered the American lexicon to describe those who employ such small, calculated acts of flattery to secure an advantage from their superiors.
- 01
apple of someone's eye
The object of somebody's affections; a person (or sometimes a thing) that someone strongly prefers; a favorite, a loved one.
- 02
apples and oranges
A comparison of items that, however categorically similar, is inapt; an incompatible analogy, or the items so compared; a disanalogy.
- 03
apples to apples
A comparison of items that are similar.
- 04
apples to apples, oranges to oranges
A comparison of items that are similar, while also acknowledging or distinguishing a separation of their sets or categories.
- 05
bad apple
A person who is not wholesome, honest, or trustworthy, especially one who has an adverse influence on others.
- 06
mix apples and oranges
To mix or confuse two completely different objects or ideas.
- 07
rotten apple
A bad person, especially one who has a corrupting influence on others.
- 08
the apple does not fall far from the tree
A child grows up to be similar to its parents, both in behavior and in physical characteristics.
Last updated August 10, 2026