ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pour honey on

idiom
Meaning

To praise or encourage wholeheartedly.


Origin

first recorded 20th c.

A aphorism first quoted by boxing heavyweight Riddick Bowe in a February 1993 edition of New York Magazine: "If you see me in a fight with a bear, do me a favor—pour honey on me”. Later in a 2023 Instagram post by Lebron James: "If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR [crown emoji]" to which Shannon Sharpe replied "I'm pouring honey on you GOAT," both referring to a variation on Bowe’s aphorism. An earlier variation by Shannon Sharpe in a Twitter post in 2017: “IF* you see me and a bear fighting pour honey on me and help the bear.”

Examples
SIMPLE

She loves to pour honey on her friends when they feel sad.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager decided to pour honey on the team during the meeting to boost their confidence after a difficult project.

COMPLEX

Rather than criticizing the young artist's early mistakes, the mentor chose to pour honey on his efforts, knowing that gentle encouragement would foster his growth.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    honey do list

    A collection of requests, usually a list of household tasks assigned by a partner.

  2. 02

    honey hole

    A location or situation which yields something of significant value.

  3. 03

    honey trap

    The use of a romantic or a sexual relationship to entice a person into revealing secret information.

  4. 04

    pour cold water on

    Synonym of throw cold water on (“to belittle or dismiss”).

  5. 05

    pour cold water over

    Synonym of throw cold water on.

  6. 06

    pour down the drain

    To waste prior work by subsequent bad decisions.

  7. 07

    pour fuel on the fire

    Synonym of add fuel to the fire.

  8. 08

    pour gasoline on the fire

    Synonym of add fuel to the fire.

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