sycophancy; flattery; brown-nosing
Refers to the act of excessive flattery or the person who does it; often used in the phrase ごますりをする. Colloquial and somewhat negative.
sesame seed grinding
Literal meaning: the act of grinding sesame seeds. Rarely used in modern conversation; the figurative sense is dominant.
Grinding sesame seeds is best done with a mortar and pestle.
He's always brown-nosing his boss.
Some people get ahead by apple-polishing.
Rare kanji spelling; the word is normally written in kana.
Katakana variant sometimes seen in informal writing.
From 胡麻 (sesame) + 擂り (grinding). The figurative sense comes from the image of grinding sesame seeds, which produces a sticky paste, likened to clinging flattery.