中英之鑒 中式英語之鑒24

　　[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。后來，人們將

　　lick the boots 引申為“為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。