Words / C2

kow-TOW/ˌkaʊˈtaʊ/

To kowtow is to show excessive obedience to power, originally a Chinese full bow: kowtow to a donor, refuse to kowtow. Bow and scrape is the everyday idiom; fawn and obsequious (already in the dictionary) are cousins. Kowtow as a noun is the bow itself. Do not kowtow a biscuit — it is not “pick up”.

Meaning

To show too much respect or obedience in order to please someone powerful.

Examples

• “He refused to kowtow to a donor who wanted the finding rewritten.”
• “She would not kowtow to a funder who wanted the inconvenient n deleted.”
• “A historic kowtow was forehead to floor; office English is metaphorical over-deference.”

Good to know

Bow and scrape; over-obey. Everyday idiom: bow and scrape. Close: fawn / obsequious. Original: a full bow. Not “pick up”.

Near in meaning

fawn

New