Hacerle la rosca
To make the coil for someone.
to curry favour with someone; **to curry favour with someone**; **to suck up to someone**; **to butter someone up**; **to ingratiate oneself with someone**; **to flatter someone**; **to get into someone's good books**
Hacerle la rosca a alguien means to flatter someone, to ingratiate oneself with someone, or to try to win someone's favour, usually because one wants something from them.
Está haciéndole la rosca al jefe para conseguir un ascenso.
He's sucking up to the boss to get a promotion.
No le hagas tanto la rosca al profesor.
Don't suck up to the teacher so much.
Lleva toda la mañana haciéndole la rosca al director.
She's been buttering up the director all morning.
Se pasó la cena haciéndole la rosca a sus suegros.
He spent the whole dinner trying to get on his in-laws' good side.
Siempre le hace la rosca a quien tiene poder.
He always sucks up to whoever is in a position of power.
It often implies deliberate flattery or excessive friendliness intended to gain an advantage.
A common construction is:
Hacerle la rosca a alguien.
→ To curry favour with someone / to suck up to someone.
- flatters a person in authority
- behaves especially nicely towards someone to obtain a favour
- tries to gain someone's approval
- praises someone excessively for personal advantage
- attempts to get into someone's good books
The expression is based on the noun rosca, which literally refers to a spiral or coil and, in other contexts, to a thread or screw thread.
The expression belongs to the large group of Spanish colloquialisms in which an apparently physical action acquires a figurative meaning connected with social manoeuvring or persuasion.
The expression normally implies that the person doing the flattering has an ulterior motive.
For example:
Le está haciendo la rosca al jefe porque quiere que le dé vacaciones.
This suggests that the person is being unusually nice to the boss in order to obtain something.
It is therefore stronger than simply saying:
Le está halagando.
→ He's flattering him.
Hacerle la rosca suggests strategic or self-interested flattery.
Hacerle la rosca is closely related to the very common expression:
Hacerle la pelota a alguien.
Both mean to flatter someone in order to gain their favour.
Compare:
Le hace la pelota al jefe.
→ He sucks up to the boss.
Le hace la rosca al jefe.
→ He sucks up to the boss.
The two expressions are often interchangeable, although hacer la pelota is generally more common in contemporary everyday Spanish.
The pronoun is important:
Hacerle la rosca. → suck up to him/her.
Hacerte la rosca. → suck up to you.
Hacerles la rosca. → suck up to them.
The most natural English translation depends on how critical the speaker is:
to butter someone up → relatively mild.
to suck up to someone → clearly negative.
to curry favour with someone → more formal.
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