1: The Chinese custom of kneeling and touching the ground with the forehead in worship or submission. 2: Try to gain favor by cringing or flattering.

I seem to remember that this word was fashionable among my high school Lincoln-Douglas debaters. It has a condescending but simplistic sound to it, invoking a sodden obviousness. It was often used in the spirit of "we will not kowtow to this policy" and speakers lingered on the word, sinking deep into it, not simply implying but informing the other debater that their policy or attitude was condescending or insulting. I do not know if it was unusual to the culture of my high school but there seemed to exist a heightened and always-present distrust of obsequiousness. It was not so much a distrust of authority (a common enough bit of teenage angst) but a desire to even the field.