English Reference
Idiom idiom

mutual admiration society


A group of two or more people, in a workplace or other social environment, who routinely express considerable esteem and support for one another, sometimes to the point of exaggeration or pretense.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

They act like a mutual admiration society at every meeting.

CONTEXTUAL

The two coworkers formed a mutual admiration society, constantly praising each other's work while ignoring everyone else's contributions.

COMPLEX

The board members operated as a mutual admiration society, offering endless compliments to one another to ensure their collective decisions remained unchallenged by outside criticism.


Related idioms1entry
  1. 01

    pay one's debt to society

    To serve time in prison or a similar correctional facility.

Last updated August 10, 2026