currying favor; brown-nosing; bootlicking
Rare, literary expression for shamelessly ingratiating oneself with a superior. The literal meaning is 'sucking pus from carbuncles and licking hemorrhoids', describing extreme sycophancy.
The phrase 吮癰舐痔 is a classical idiom that refers to the ugly act of fawning over one's boss.
A common colloquial term for brown-nosing or apple-polishing, whereas 吮癰舐痔 is a rare, literary expression with a much stronger and more graphic image.
A standard word for flattery or sycophancy; 吮癰舐痔 is far more extreme and vivid, used only in very formal or literary contexts.
A yojijukugo (four-character idiom) of Chinese origin, literally 'suck carbuncle, lick hemorrhoids'. It describes the most servile flattery imaginable. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it is a fixed classical expression.