curries

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of curry.

   The buffet laid out a dozen curries in steaming copper pots.

   Regional curries vary widely in spice, color, and sauce thickness.

   Note

   Curries counts dishes: a buffet can offer a dozen curries, while the powder or the sauce is often treated as uncountable and left as plain curry. Be aware that the same plural is also used as a derogatory ethnic slur for people of South Asian heritage. The spelling follows the consonant-plus-y rule, with y becoming -ies, which it shares with the verb form.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of curry.

   The groom curries each pony until its coat gleams.

   The new intern curries favor with senior staff at every opportunity.

   Note

   Its figurative use is a fixed idiom: someone curries favor with a superior, winning goodwill through flattery. Behind that idiom stand the literal trades. A groom curries a horse with a curry comb, a worker curries tanned leather by beating and scraping it, and the word once also meant to thrash someone. The kitchen sense, to season with curry powder, is the only one tied to the dish.

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