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Difference between Suck it up and Suck up to someone

suck it up —(sl.) make the effort required to deal with smth. difficult or unpleasant:

  • The airline should have sucked it up and simply canceled the flights altogether when the weather situation became clear.

Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase suck it in—(sl.) pull in one’s stomach (to make oneself thinner when posing for a picture, etc.):

  • Their first apartment was so small, you had to stand flat againt the wall in the hallway and suck it in for anyone to pass you.

suck up to someone—(coll., especially among children) try to gain the favor of a person by flattery, etc.:

  • He was very talkative … in the old schoolboy phrase, he was plainly “sucking up” to me.