English Vocabulary in Use Advanced » Unit 75: A pat on the back: complimenting and praising
| verb | noun | adjective |
| compliment | _____ | _____ |
| praise | _____ | _____ |
| laud | _____ | |
| flatter | _____ | _____ |
| crawl | _____ | _____ |
| smarm | _____ |
The boss would get better results if she paid her staff compliments occasionally.
He asked us what we thought of his suit, but he was really only fishing for compliments.
Take it as a compliment that he feels relaxed enough to fall asleep at your dinner party!
A back-handed compliment and a double-edged compliment are ones that appear to be both positive and negative. Back-handed compliments tend to have a malicious intent, whereas doubleedged ones are usually made innocently.
I took it as a back-handed compliment when he said I was looking good for my age.
She paid me the double-edged compliment of saying my driving was pretty good for a beginner.
The phrase give praise to is usually used only (though not exclusively) for a god. An action or person that deserves praise is praiseworthy and people are praised for their actions.
Other common collocations are widely/highly praised, praised to the skies, to sing someone’s/something’s praises, to shower/ heap praise on someone/something. To damn someone with faint praise is to praise with such a lack of enthusiasm that you give the impression of actually having rather negative feelings.
| expression | meaning | example |
| pay tribute to | praise; formal | At the memorial service, I paid tribute to his kindness. |
| give someone a standing ovation | stand up and clap loudly for a long time | At the end of the concert, the audience gave the young pianist a standing ovation. |
| extol the virtues/ benefits of | praise highly; formal | At the conference, the Prime Minister extolled the virtues of the new trade treaty. |
| be the toast of | be admired for some recent achievement (often used about artists and celebrities) | A few months ago, hardly anyone had heard of her but now she’s the toast of Hollywood. |
| pat someone on the back / give someone a pat on the back | praise, often children (used mostly metaphorically) | My teacher patted me on the back / gave me a pat on the back for my good marks in the maths test. |
| earn/win plaudits | get positive comments; formal | The exhibition earned plaudits from all the major reviewers. |
| laud (adj. = laudable (of behaviour), laudatory (of comments or remarks)) | praise highly in official situations; formal | The Prime Minister has lauded the new peace initiative. |
These mostly informal expressions imply praising someone for your own benefit: to flatter, to make up to, to crawl, to suck up to, to lick someone’s boots. Someone who behaves like this can be called smarmy, slimy or a crawler (all informal), a flatterer (neutral) or servile, obsequious (more formal).
Flatter can also be used more positively. That dress flatters her figure. [makes her figure look better than it really is]
The noun flattery is often used in the phrase Flattery will get you nowhere! [insincere praise will not achieve anything]
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