掇臀捧屁

duōtún-pěngpì

idiom

Meanings

1 to suck up shamelessly
2 to engage in crude flattery
3 to bootlick (literally 'lift the buttocks and praise the fart')

Characters

to lift up; to pick up

to hold up; to flatter

Examples

他在领导面前掇臀捧屁，同事们都看不下去。

Tā zài lǐngdǎo miànqián duōtún-pěngpì, tóngshì men dōu kànbuxiàqù.

He sucked up shamelessly to the boss; his colleagues couldn't stand to watch.

我宁愿丢工作也不想掇臀捧屁。

Wǒ nìngyuàn diū gōngzuò yě bù xiǎng duōtún-pěngpì.

I'd rather lose my job than have to bootlick anyone.

Tips

history

Recorded in Feng Menglong's late-Ming story collection 《醒世恒言》 (Stories to Awaken the World), Vol. 25: 白长吉 keeps coming around to 掇臀捧屁. The vivid disgust of the imagery, literally lifting someone's rear and praising their fart, is the whole point.

register

Crude and contemptuous. Use only in informal speech or pointed satire; in neutral writing prefer 阿谀奉承 or 拍马屁.

Stroke Order

掇 duō

臀 tún

捧 pěng

屁 pì