I always loved the term "keener" growing up and was disappointed that it wasn't a term of use down here in the States. It's essentially the same thing as a "brown-noser" but a little less graphic.
Keener is more benign than brown-noser, but Canadians will use it with a subtle hint of irony or sarcasm to indicate politely that the "keener' is indeed a brown-noser or amusing try hard.
