grease up

Verb

grease up (third-person singular simple present greases up, present participle greasing up, simple past and past participle greased up)

1. (transitive) To smear or otherwise lubricate with oil or grease; especially, to grease (something, such as a machine or a baking pan) thoroughly.
   • On the evening of our second day Mr. Bliss said he thought we ought to grease up our shoes a little so that they would turn water better.1898, Charles Hallock, William A. Bruette, Forest and stream: Volume 51
   • I saw my old Daddy grease his pistol and rub it up and grease it up and work it and put cartridges in it. And say, 'I'm going into town today.'1992, Patrick B. Mullen, Listening to old voices: folklore, life stories, and the elderly, page 86
2. (often, slang, with-to) To flatter (someone) excessively; to suck up.
   • But I take the view that the statue is a cheap and cynical stunt by ministers with scant knowledge of history, whose only interest lies in greasing up to modern Indian politicians. With little or no dignity, they shamelessly prostrate themselves in the most craven way.2014 July 10, Stephen Glover, “Sorry, but Gandhi statue in Westminster is a cheap stunt by ministers with scant knowledge of history greasing up to India”, in Daily Mail
   • Amazing, given the gravity of those, that noises-off to the main event continue to be bleatings by the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries […] who have now put five times more effort into greasing up to Boris Johnson than they ever did into public service.2023 June 30, Marina Hyde, “The tide is coming in fast on Rishi Sunak – and it’s full of sewage”, in The Guardian