Whisking eggs, slicing onions, buttering toast there's an optimistic rhythm to the rites of breakfast.

WSJ: Breakfast 2.0: Hash Re-Hash

He intends to buy ads in Cambodian, Spanish and Korean newspapers and already spends evenings buttering up church groups.

FORBES: Magazine Article

"He was known for buttering up the owners of clubs, " revealed Simon Griver, a journalist in Israel who writes for the Jewish Chronicle.

BBC: Grant's chance to silence doubters

Zurich's bankers claim they can easily substitute Internet updates and polished chrome for evenings at the opera and velvet plush when it comes to buttering up, they are flexible.

ECONOMIST: Private banking

He cultivates what he sees as his many constituencies, attending meetings, giving speeches and buttering up the rich at restaurants with the energy of a man running for office.

ECONOMIST: A delicate task for William Bratton in Los Angeles

Mr Romney would take a more hawkish line abroad, with more criticism of enemies and more buttering-up of old allies, though a war-weary America would be no more likely to get involved in new conflicts.

ECONOMIST: Conclusion