to leech onto
- phrasal verb
- /liːtʃ ˈɒntuː/
- Offensive
:
colgarse de
- She tends to leech onto anyone who is successful, hoping to gain something from them.
That said, if you can do this, this will let them Leech onto your good credit.
- That said, if you can do this, this will let them Leech onto your good credit.
Examples
-
You leech onto us and then all you do is complain.
-
That said, if you can do this, this will let them Leech onto your good credit.
-
Some friends may leech onto you for your connections in the industry.
-
If you show too much kindness, people will leech onto you without giving anything in return.
Synonyms
25
7.7
Act very friendly and praise someone to gain their favor
4
7.9
To take money, food, or help from someone without giving anything back
How Clingy
61
3.4
- Offensive
239
2.9
- Informal
407
2.0
- Informal
59
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'leech' (a parasite that clings to and feeds off a host) with the spatial/attachment sense of 'onto' — together they metaphorically indicate attaching to someone to gain benefit. This parasite-metaphor and the verb+preposition composition are cross-linguistically common and follow regular English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Leech onto comes from a small worm called a leech that sticks onto a person's skin and drinks their blood. So, when someone 'leeches onto' another person, they cling to them to 'gain benefit' or attention, like the worm taking from someone.