bootlick

English

Etymology

boot +‎ lick

Verb

bootlick (third-person singular simple present bootlicks, present participle bootlicking, simple past and past participle bootlicked)

1. (transitive) To seek favor from by fawning, servile behavior.
   • 2003, Todd DePastino, Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America, page 81:

     He had no social position to protect, no employer to bootlick.

2. (intransitive) To engage in fawning, servile behavior.

Translations

to seek favor from by fawning, servile behavior

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 擦鞋 (caat³ haai⁴)

• Polish: podlizywać się impf, podlizać się pf
• Turkish: çanak yalamak (tr), göt yalamak

Noun

bootlick (plural bootlicks)

1. (US) A toady or sycophant.
   • 1838, Oasis: An Anthology to Divert an Idle Hour:

     the involving of certain "bootlicks" into difficulty