Meaning & use
licking boots
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Meaning
phraseidiomdisapprovinginformal
Flattering and obeying someone powerful in order to win their approval or favor.
Grammar: Fixed expression; often written as 'lick someone's boots' or in the compound 'boot-licking'.
Patterns
- lick someone's boots
- be busy licking boots
- a boot-licking employee
He spent the whole meeting licking the manager's boots instead of offering real ideas.
Stop licking boots and tell the boss what you actually think.
The new assistant was known for licking boots to get a promotion.
Common combinations
- lick someone's boots
- She won't lick anyone's boots just to keep her job.
- boot-licking
- His boot-licking manner annoyed the whole team.
- a bootlicker
- Everyone called him a bootlicker behind his back.
- tired of boot-licking
- The staff grew tired of boot-licking around the director.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flatter
- To praise someone insincerely; it does not necessarily suggest obeying them like a servant.
- fawn over
- Means to show exaggerated admiration, close in meaning but often used about admiration rather than obedience.
- toady
- A direct near-synonym for a person who flatters superiors, but it is a noun or verb and sounds a little old-fashioned.
Opposites
Word family
- bootlicker noun
- A person who flatters and obeys powerful people.
- bootlicking noun
- The act of flattering and obeying powerful people.
Commonly confused: licking boots or licking your wounds?
licking boots vs licking your wounds
That idiom means recovering after a defeat, which is completely different from flattering a superior.
Practice
What does it mean if a colleague is said to be licking boots?
Choose one answer.
'Licking boots' describes insincere flattery aimed at winning favor, so the second option fits. It has nothing to do with cleaning shoes, recovering from defeat, or complaining.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “licking boots”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.