humour him


do what he wants

TRANSLATION

to humour s.o. = jmd. bei Laune halten; jmd. nachgeben; jmd seinen Willen lassen; jmd im Glauben lassen

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

"Republicans need to stop HUMORING Trump’s 2020 election lies"

The Washington Examiner Headline- 22 February 2022


“When British engineer and model plane maker Alliot Verdon Roe claimed he would get airborne in the early 1900s, everyone else just HUMOURED him.”

BBC News

Did you
know?

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

More Word Quizzes:

precipitation

1 year ago

downsizing (business)

SORRY,
please try again...

indecisiveness (psychology)

SORRY,
please try again...

rainfall (meteorology)

Congrats Your Answer is Correct.

sleight of hand

1 year ago

a decisive hand gesture

SORRY,
please try again...

a clever trick

Congrats Your Answer is Correct.

a writing mistake

SORRY,
please try again...

rhubarb triangle

1 year ago

a military tactic

SORRY,
please try again...

a location in West Yorkshire

Congrats Your Answer is Correct.

a three-child family

SORRY,
please try again...

innocuous

1 year ago

harmless

Congrats Your Answer is Correct.

dangerous

SORRY,
please try again...

protective

SORRY,
please try again...

pebbledash

1 year ago

three dots after a word…

SORRY,
please try again...

an exterior wall covering

Congrats Your Answer is Correct.

a beach race in bare feet

SORRY,
please try again...

Copyright © 2000-2023 PSA - All Rights Reserved