Have you ever thought to curry favour with your boss? Did you think it had something to do with inviting her to share a spicy Indian meal?

You might be surprised to know it has more to do with grooming a chestnut horse!

The expression comes from the less commonly known meaning of curry – ‘to groom a horse’. A currycomb is a tool with short teeth on one side used on a horse’s coat.

This form of curry seems to have its origins in Old French from the Latin conredare meaning ‘prepare or get ready’ (it seems to be the same base as the word ‘ready’).

Le Roman de Fauvel was a 14th century French story about a chestnut horse. Fauvel represented hypocrisy and deceit and was rubbed down, or curried, by other characters, who wanted to get on his good side.

The French estriller fauvel became popularly used to mean ‘gain favour through smooth talk’.

It was loosely translated into English as ‘curry fauvel’. The closeness in sound between fauvel and favour is thought to have contributed to the expression ‘curry favour’ becoming widely used.