n. & v.
--n.
1. a a pale yellow edible fatty substance made by churning cream and used as a spread or in cooking. b a substance of a similar consistency or appearance (peanut butter).
2 excessive flattery.
--v.tr. spread, cook, or serve with butter (butter the bread; buttered carrots).
Phrases and idioms:
butter-and-eggs any of several plants having two shades of yellow in the flower, e.g. toadflax. butter-bean
1. the flat, dried, white lima bean.
2 a yellow-podded bean. butter-cream (or -icing) a mixture of butter, icing sugar, etc. used as a filling or a topping for a cake. butter-fingers colloq. a clumsy person prone to drop things. butter-knife a blunt knife used for cutting butter at table. butter muslin a thin, loosely-woven cloth with a fine mesh, orig. for wrapping butter.
butter-nut
1. a N. American tree, Juglans cinerea.
2 the oily nut of this tree. butter up colloq. flatter excessively. look as if butter wouldn't melt in one's mouth seem demure or innocent, probably deceptively.
Etymology: OE butere f. L butyrum f. Gk bouturon