roddy Posted May 7, 2005 at 10:27 AM Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 at 10:27 AM Ages and ages ago I came across an idiom which you could use to 'compliment' incompetent officials. The English translation was something like 'I could not begin to praise him', with the alleged meaning of 'because there is so much to praise, it would take me too long', but implying 'because he's rubbish and there's nothing to praise.' I forgot the Chinese though, and can't track it down. Any ideas? Roddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
florazheng Posted May 12, 2005 at 03:48 AM Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 at 03:48 AM =溜须拍马？ Is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
florazheng Posted May 12, 2005 at 05:19 AM Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 at 05:19 AM =无术不学？ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted May 12, 2005 at 05:23 AM Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 at 05:23 AM No, neither of those, sorry. I saw it in one of those '500 Idiom books' when I was first in China. The English explanation was something like 'I cannot begin to sing his praises, used sarcastically of incompetent officials.' Thanks for trying though (and thanks for all your help in other topics as well Roddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
florazheng Posted May 12, 2005 at 07:19 AM Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 at 07:19 AM Roddy, thank you for the interesting forum too. By the way, what is the meaning of your signature column? “在骚扰我便你” = “再骚扰我，扁你！”？ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted May 12, 2005 at 09:49 AM Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 at 09:49 AM Whoops, couple of wrong characters there. It's correct now, I think. Roddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhwj Posted May 12, 2005 at 11:46 AM Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 at 11:46 AM I assume the answer you got from this thread last year (不敢恭维) was incorrect as well. In a more general sense, if everyone uses it to put off officials, isn't it essentially an insult anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted May 12, 2005 at 11:56 AM Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 at 11:56 AM That's really quite embarrassing. I have no idea if I never saw that, or just forgot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.