Έκφραση σε μεταφορική χρήση όπως αυτή που παραθέτω παρακάτω από εδώ (http://books.google.com/books?id=DC...CYQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q="pat the beast"&f=false):
As David Cecil says about the senior Victorians, they "shrink from passion even in its respectable manifestations. It is often a major motive in their plots as it has been in all plots since stories first began; but they pat the beast gingerly with fingers protected by a thick glove of sentimental reverence, and then hastily pass on."
Ή όπως εδώ:
This may open the gate so you can bring out your mule (ΣτΖ: 'Mule' here is a metaphor for what one is trying to sell) and pat the beast for a moment.
As David Cecil says about the senior Victorians, they "shrink from passion even in its respectable manifestations. It is often a major motive in their plots as it has been in all plots since stories first began; but they pat the beast gingerly with fingers protected by a thick glove of sentimental reverence, and then hastily pass on."
Ή όπως εδώ:
This may open the gate so you can bring out your mule (ΣτΖ: 'Mule' here is a metaphor for what one is trying to sell) and pat the beast for a moment.