to humour someone
verb phrase

- to do what someone wants so that they do not become annoyed or upset

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

—
ORIGIN

The word humour has an odd etymological history which can be traced to the Latin umor, meaning “body fluid”.
In the middle ages it was believed that the relative proportions of four bodily fluids determined a person’s state of mind.

In the 16th century to humour someone meant ‘to indulge a person’s whim’ (Laune), to comply with or indulge their wishes simply to appease them, rather like raising a verbal white flag.

Over time humor/humour came to be associated with a person’s mood or disposition and eventually developed the sense of “amusing, funny” during the 17th century.

—
TALKING TO GOD

Late one night, after retiring to bed exhausted from a disappointing day wrestling with a troublesome scene in one of the Pink Panther movies, director Blake Edwards was roused by a call from the film’s star, Peter Sellers.

“I just talked to God!” he exclaimed “and He told me how to do it!”

The next day, although he was skeptical, Edwards HUMOURED Sellers and the result was a disaster. “Peter”, Edwards sighed, “next time you talk to God, tell Him to stay out of show business”.

—
SYNONYMS
for indulge, accommodate, or go along with the whims or desires of someone

please, gratify, pander to, cater to, adapt to, go along with, HUMOUR (UK), HUMOR (US), pamper, coddle, cosset, spoil, baby, overindulge, mollycoddle, oblige, feather-bed, pet, overparent, wet-nurse, spoon-feed, wrap in cotton wool, wait on hand and foot, nanny, make a fuss of, spoil rotten, cater to your every whim, nursemaid, mother, kill with kindness, fuss over, wrap up in cotton wool, cocoon, appease, spare the rod, give in to, play up to, minister to, tolerate, be soft, shelter, be overprotective towards, featherbed, run around after, give in, do everything for, give a knee ride

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into today’s conversation

“Bill will tell you that he's the best salesman in the company, just HUMOUR him.”

—
THANKS to Jutta for suggesting today’s word!

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40