中式英语之鉴：拍马屁怎么说？

同学们都很讨厌他，因为他经常拍老师的马屁。

　　[误] The student all dislike him because he often pats the teacher's ass¹.

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

　　注：以前在欧洲，臣民见到国王与王后往往要葡匐到在，亲吻他们的靴子。后来，人们将 lick the boots 引申为“为了某种目的而讨好某人”，它与汉语的“拍马屁”含义一样。在美国英语中，“拍马屁”还有另一种说法，即 polish the apple，它典出以前的学生用擦亮的苹果来讨好老师。