BUTTER (SOMEONE) UP
A buttering up is a tactic that an individual can use to get on someone’s good side. The use of this term may be derived from the practice of applying butter to bread and other food items in order to make it more palatable. A lot of times, people will butter someone up by agreeing with everything they say or complimenting them about their personality or actions.
The study of buttering someone up, or the process of buttering a person up, is a relatively quasi-scientific approach to becoming more likable. It involves making those around you feel as though they are valued and appreciated. This may be accomplished by providing them with compliments or positive feedback, providing them with help without being asked, or by showing interest in their interests.
To butter someone up is to use praise, compliments, and flattery to gain their favor.
To butter someone up means to easily please them in order to receive their favor. For instance, if you boss gives you two days to finish your work, when he says “I’ll need it done by Friday,” you might say, “Sure. I’ll have it finished by Monday.” Another example of buttering someone up is buying an expensive gift for a friend because you want something in return.
BUY (SOMETHING) FOR A SONG
The phrase “buy something for a song” is often used when something is purchased at an exorbitant price that it does not deserve. For example, someone might buy a car for $5,000 and then sell it to someone else for $6,000 and say they bought the car for a song.
Singing for someone, usually to convince him/her to buy something, has been a tradition in America. The phrase “buying something for a song” means that you are getting an item cheaper than it’s worth. You are probably being persuaded by the seller because you are being told how great the item is and now you believe you need this item.
The phrase “buy something for a song” is often used to refer to the idea that something is being sold for very little money that would normally be worth more. This can be seen in the saying “He got the house for a song,” which refers to an old practice of buying property from someone who owed back taxes on it, which are then paid by the new owner.
BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
The phrase by hook or by crook is an idiom that can refer to two ways to get something done. The first is through extreme dedication and the second is through dishonesty. It’s used in response to a challenge, as in “I’ll get it done by hook or by crook.
Whether you do it by hook or by crook, the end goal is always the same. Basically, this phrase means that you will do whatever it takes to get what you want. You can use any means necessary as long as you eventually get there.
In this context, by hook or by crook means to use any means necessary to accomplish a task. It often conveys the idea that the consequences don’t matter. For example, when someone says “I will get it by hook or by crook,” it’s implied that they will take any steps necessary and suffer the consequences, even if it means doing something illegal.
I feel that there are different definitions to this phrase, one being that by hook or by crook it means one thing. It does not matter how you get it done, you can get it done any way possible. The other definition is that the phrase means that the person will go beyond their boundaries to get what they want. They will do whatever it takes to get what they want without any regard for the consequences.
2 thoughts on “BUTTER (SOMEONE) UP, BUY (SOMETHING) FOR A SONG, BY HOOK OR BY CROOK: American English Idioms #32”