这个主管说:Alex has been working for me over a year. He never misses a chance to say what he thinks I want to hear. He hopes I'll assign him nice jobs and eventually promote him. But I don't buy that kind of sweet talk so I guess he'll be disappointed。
Butter这个字可能大家都早已知道,就是西方人经常吃的黄油。但是,在 to butter up someone这个习惯用语里,butter用做动词。To butter up someone并不是真的在某人身上涂黄油。作为俗语,to butter up someone是指对人不寻常地客气,过份地奉承,目的是在于赢得此人的好感,或者是要他给你一种特别的好处。To butter up someone这个习惯用语的形成可能是因为面包上涂了黄油味道就好多了,或者是因为黄油很滑溜,就像那些奉承别人的话听起来很顺耳那样。
下面是一个公司的雇员在说一个会拍马的同事。
Harry is working hard to butter up the boss to get that promotion. The funny thing is if he worked as hard at his job as he does at buttering up people, he'd have a better chance to get what he's after。
I believe some people are simply born with the talent of buttering up people. Don't you think I haven't tried. I did, but I felt so awkward about flattering people. So I've given up a long time ago。