butter up
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Puzzle #89 · August 29, 2025
The phrase butter up, which means, to flatter or praise someone in order to gain their help, comes from India.
Internet folk etymology suggests this phrase comes from a Hindu custom which included rituals of offering ghee to (or spreading ghee on) statues of gods. While ghee is central to Hinduism and used in rituals (like Abhishekam or in yajna fire rituals), there is no strong evidence of throwing butter at statues as part of widespread rituals, nor that it is the direct source of the English phrase.
Internet folk etymology suggests this phrase comes from a Hindu custom which included rituals of offering ghee to (or spreading ghee on) statues of gods. While ghee is central to Hinduism and used in rituals (like Abhishekam or in yajna fire rituals), there is no strong evidence of throwing butter at statues as part of widespread rituals, nor that it is the direct source of the English phrase.
Puzzle Appearances
The expression butter up has appeared in 1 puzzle:
- Puzzle #89 on August 29, 2025
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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