“Apple polish” is a term for flattery used to gain favor or get what one wants. It can be a gift or verbal appeal, but is considered a logical fallacy. Children often use it to get what they want, and adults use it in politics and marketing. The formula is to flatter, make a request or complaint, and insist it’s valid because of the flattery. It’s a faulty logical connection, but effective in certain situations.
Apple polish has a number of synonyms, which include brown nose, flattering fake and flatterer. In all cases, the idea comes from apples given to teachers at school to curry favor. It can be a silent appeal in the form of a gift to better appreciate and therefore evaluate a student. Alternatively, in speech, especially where someone wants to argue a point, it can be used as an appeal to flattery and emotion, and thus considered a logical fallacy.
Trying to get a teacher or boss to like a person in order to give him better grades or a promotion is a common practice. While it’s okay to love a teacher or boss and tell them so, constant flattery to get something out of the person is polishing apples. It’s an often used but denigrated technique for getting what someone wants but perhaps doesn’t deserve.
Children often try to use flattery to get what they want at an early age. For example, a child might say, “Mom, you are so beautiful. Can I have a biscuit?” Regardless of whether or not the child really thinks mom is beautiful, the compliment is intended to win her favor so that he will deliver the cookie. It also connects two unrelated topics: mom’s beauty and the desire for cookies. This is a fallacious argument since mom’s beauty has nothing to do with whether or not she will hand out the cookies. In fact, in this case, the mother would do well to wait a little before giving the cookie so as not to reinforce her behavior.
As children get older, they often become a little more subtle in their attempts. He considers the following statement: “Professor, I learned more in your class than any class I’ve ever had before. I’m also thinking about doing the underage in the story now. I just wish my grade reflected what I learned.” Of course, a professor who needs flattery may be slightly swayed by a student who sings his praises until it comes to the sticky question of grades. Suddenly, the eulogy is suspicious because it comes with a request to change a vote.
Another way to polish your apples is to start with a little flattery that can win an argument. “Since we’re both smart, I think you’ll agree with me that ‘X’ is important.” The person constructing the argument first establishes both people’s intelligence, but more importantly establishes that the person they want to strike a deal with is intelligent. Then comes the hook: “I think we’ll both agree.” Unfortunately, the statement that a person is intelligent has no logical connection with “X is important.”
The latter form is a frequent one used by politicians and many commercials. For example, something might be marketed to the consumer “with taste,” flattering those who buy the product thinking they have “good taste.” A politician might say, “I know all good Americans will join me in this fight.” If you do otherwise than join the politician, you are not a good American, according to the statement.
The basic formula for polishing apples is as follows:
Use flattery towards the person or audience you are addressing,
Make a complaint or request,
Insist that because the flattery is true, the request or request is valid.
Through this formula, it is clear that this action establishes a faulty logical connection: flattery does not make an argument true. It should be stressed, however, that it works quite well for many in the political and commercial markets.
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