中式英語之鑑:他經常拍老師的馬屁

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同學們都很討厭他，因爲他經常拍老師的馬屁。

[誤] The student all dislike him because he often pats the teacher's ass.

[正] The students all dislike him because he often licks the teacher's boots.

注：以前在歐洲，臣民見到國王與王后往往要葡匐到在，親吻他們的靴子。後來，人們將
lick the boots 引申爲“爲了某種目的而討好某人”，它與漢語的“拍馬屁”含義一樣。

在美國英語中，“拍馬屁”還有另一種說法，即polish the apple，它典出以前的學生用擦亮的蘋果來討好老師。