Hi this is Tutor Nick p and this is Word Origins 68. The what word origin today is curry
favor. Okay. Let's take a look at the note here. Curry favor
is a disapproving term in which one person or group will try to get noticed
and get someone to like them or support them usually by promising to help them
or do something for them. Okay. Let's continue.
However, the feeling is that they are only doing it because they believe that
that person or group will be useful to them and they really are not sincere
about what they say or profess to believe. You know, what they claim that
they believe. All right. Let's continue. The origin of this term comes from a
French poem, I don't if I'll pronounce this right. 'Roman de Fauvel'
written in the 1300s. So it goes way back and turned into a play. Now Fauvel was
actually the character, was a tricky cunning dishonest horse.
So very, very cunning very wise, but also tricky at the same time. In the play it
made fun of the corruption at the time. You know, at the time in France. I guess
in the 1300s. Fauvel in French meant a chestnut or dark reddish color. The color
of the horse's coat so the color of the horse's hair. The term "curry" in curry
favor or curry Fauvel. So that's what it originally was curry Fauvel and
eventually turned in today what we call curry favor, to curry favor. So just like
they say, you know , that the curry in curry favor has nothing to do with the
food , the curry food. I like curry but it doesn't have anything to do with that. I
had to do with. it had to do with combing. So to curry Fauvel had to do
with combing. Combing the horses hair. A curry comb because there is such a thing.
That still is today. It's called a curry comb ... is
a comb for cleaning the hair of horses. Thus when you try to curry Fauvel,
you know, by using combing his hair, you try to win his favor. You tried to get
him to like you. By pleasing him and combing his hair. Okay.
The term to curry favor has come to represent using deceit and cunning and
cunningly tried to trick someone to gain their favor. So it goes all the way back to that
story. So the curry had to do with the
comb of combing the horses hair. And you know the horse was Fauvel or it ended
up turning into favor. So that's why we get the term to curry favor today. Okay.
And we just have one example here. That political party, every four years tries
to curry favor with that minority group to get their votes by pretending to care
about their needs and promising them the world. Then after the election they do
little to nothing for them until the next election cycle and they do the same
thing all over again. You know, they try to curry their favor again and you know,
if they win then they then they forget about them. And so, so really they're not
really they're not really true. They are not really honest. They just try to use them.
They think that they are useful to them. So they try to curry their favor. Okay.
Anyway, I hope you got it. I hope it was clear. Thank you for your time. Bye-bye.