Crossword Genius

Wild flower, less cold and flatter (6,2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

butter up

'flatter' is the definition.
(buttering up is a kind of flattering)

'wild flower less cold' is the wordplay.
'wild flower' becomes 'buttercup' (I've seen this before).
'less' is a deletion indicator.
'cold' becomes 'c' (eg on taps).
'buttercup' with 'c' taken away is 'BUTTER UP'.

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for butter up that I've seen before include "Flatter in order to get something" , "like 17 [SWEET TALK]" , "Flatter using common dairy product" , "Flatter to obtain favour" , "Work on" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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