little-understood, baksheesh, kickbacks

Today is National Lazy Day in the USA, an unofficial holiday giving us permission to relax and kickback. On this lazy day we're sharing a famously relaxed figure with you. "The Poor Poet" by German painter Carl Spitzweg: The 'poet' is dressed in his sleeping cap, which was common practice in his day. But there are other curious objects to be discovered in the painting – can you find the boot jack, the top hat or the ink pot?

When China sent swift condolences to Pakistan after the slaughter of over 130 schoolchildren in a terror attack in Peshawar last month, it was more than a perfunctory gesture. The two countries have such a long-standing and harmonious relationship. Yet misgivings also abound, as Andrew Small points out in an impressive account of a little-understood friendship http://econ.st/1yN8ywk

China and Pakistan: Geopolitical friends

ECON.ST

A reader in Paris responded, ''Kickbacks in French are 'pots de vin.''' Apparently a jug of wine is the metaphor for a more substantial percentage of the payment corruptly returned. This is done dessous de table, which Americans understand as ''under the table.'' A reader in La Jolla, Calif., Eric Naegle, noted that an Arabic or Turkish word -- baksheesh -- which sometimes means ''tip, gratuity,'' is also understood in France to describe a more sinister payment.

瑞麟兄解釋：
kickback 的用法涵蓋政治、體育、機械和牌戲，函中引文應該專指「醜聞」方面。
茲僅就要求，說明中、法文字部分的意義如下：
法文部分─
pots de vin ：pots 為 pot 的複數形，與英文的 pot 同義；de = of ；vin = wine
函中緊接在後的英文 jug(s) of wine 就是這個法文詞組的意思。
但是，如果要對應於函中的 kickback的意涵，應該寫成 pot-de-vin （複數為 pots-de-vin）
也就等於英文的 bribe，此字既為名詞，亦為動詞。
kickback 拆開成 kick back就有動詞味道了。
dessous de table ：dessous = underneath; beneath；de = of；table = table
也一樣就是在後的英文所示 under the table 的意思。
中文部分─
huikou 照你函中所譯「惠口」，固然音譯無誤，但是依我的認知，中文似乎只有口惠而無惠口一詞。我比較傾向於譯成回扣，另外，我在想原作者會不會誤將賄賂（ huilou） 聽成 huikou？可是，根據後面的英文說明 Kou generally means ''keep, hold'' 會令我聯想到「固、梏、扣」； hui means ''back'' 使我想到的是「回」，合起來比較接近回扣。

relax and kick back 放輕鬆


baksheesh (BAK-sheesh)

noun: A payment, such as a tip or bribe.

Etymology
From Persian bakhshish, from bakhshidan, from baksh (to give).

Usage
"A certain favoritism, even in the absence of baksheesh-pocketing headwaiters, is indispensable to restaurants that expect to maintain a steady clientele -- especially in New York, where every other big shot seems to demand the 'best' table and, instead of something fabulous to eat, a custom-baked potato." — Thomas McNamee; The Joy of Cooking; The New York Times Book Review; Jun 23, 2002.

"About 130 officials were fired for taking baksheesh, and the volume of tariff revenue that actually reached state coffers jumped by almost 50% in two years." — Maturing Mozambique; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 4, 1999.