flattery
part of speech
noun (flattery — uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
Flattery is praise that is too much or not sincere, often given to please someone or to get something from them. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and fables, flattery is a trick: in Aesop's fable the fox flatters the crow so it drops its cheese. In ethics lessons, flattery is different from honest praise. In everyday talk, «flattery will get you nowhere» is a joking reply to compliments. Common phrases: «flattery will get you nowhere», «empty flattery», «imitation is the sincerest form of flattery», «use flattery».
examples
- He that denounceth his friends for the sake of flattery, even the eyes of his children shall fail. (Writings JOB.17.5, JPS 1917) tree →
- The fox used flattery to trick the crow into singing. tree →
- «Flattery will get you nowhere,» laughed Mum when I said she was the best cook in the world. tree →
- The courtiers covered the king in flattery. tree →
- Honest praise is better than flattery. tree →
- She saw through his flattery straight away. tree →
- Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, people say. tree →
- He tried flattery to get an extra biscuit. tree →
- Do not let flattery throw you off your guard against an enemy. tree →
note
Uncountable. The verb is «flatter» (to praise too much, or to make someone look better than real: that photo flatters you). «Flattering» clothes make you look nice. «I'm flattered» means «I'm pleased by your kind words». Do not confuse with «flatten» (make flat).
In the corpora
- He that denounceth his friends for the sake of flattery, even the eyes of his children shall fail.
- Flattery is not honest feedback; honest, kind feedback helps people more than "Great question!" said to everything.
- Flattery about yourself is not true just because it is nice; you thank people and stay honest about your limits.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «flattery» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.