polish the apple

Try to win favor through flattery, as in It may help your standing with the boss if you polish the apple. This expression gave rise to the phrase apple polishing. The idiom alludes to the practice of schoolchildren bringing their teacher the gift of a bright, shiny apple. [c. 1920]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Dell	[del]
Tutankhamon	too-tahng-KAH-mən (English)	Ancient Egyptian
Fabrizio	-	Italian
Joselyn	JAHS-lin, JAHS-ə-lin	English (Modern)
Shu	-	Chinese
Karin	KAH-rin (Swedish, German, Dutch), KAH-reen (Finnish), KER-ən (English), KAR-ən (English)	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, English