Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) sycophancy, toadying.

1936		H. Miller Black Spring 95: He had raised this ass-kissing business to an art.
1940		E.F. Frazier Negro Youth 56: ‘You [i.e. a black boy] shouldn’t act like you know too much. Treat white people courteous at all times and if necessary, do a little flattering and ‘coat-tail’ kissing’ .
1943		M. Curtiss Letters Home (1944) 23 July 85: I was disgusted with the ass-kissing.
1957		(con. 1944) L. Giovannitti Prisoners of Combine D 119: Ass-kissing doesn’t do any good around here.
1957		‘Weldon Hill’ Onionhead (1958) 139: A little butt-kissing sure speeded up some people’s careers.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 60: The ass-kissing of the few who had solved the riddle.
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 17: A transfer to the Bureau will take years and lots of ass kissing.
1997		E. Little Another Day in Paradise 71: The maitre d’ [...] does an excellent job of ass kissing.
1999		Indep. on Sun. Culture 26 Sept. 9: Air-kissing and ass-kissing and general falseness and fakery.
2000		Guardian Editor 7 Jan. 10: But then again, my personality isn’t conducive to butt-kissing.
2017		R. Friedman Street Warrior 236: Speaking your mind in any bureaucracy is ill-advised, but I was never concerned with ass kissing.