Tok Daaihgeuk: to flatter (lit. to carry on one's shoulders a pair of big feet)

In the Tang dynasty, an empress called Mouh Jak Tin (A.D. 625-705) had a favorite lover called Sit Waaih Yih. A low ranking official named Jeung Kap always followed Sit Waaih Yih to serve as his attendant. Whenever Sit wanted to mount his horse, Jeung Kap prostrated himself on the ground to serve as a stepping stool for his master. This may be the origin of the phrase tok daaihgeuk.

Big feet, little feet.

I've been working on getting blurbs for several weeks now. Most of it is a waiting game. After sending out the requests, I suffered the same nail-biting nervousness that accompanies sending out submissions. Once you send out the query and writers respond, they have the opportunity to look at your manuscript and refuse to blurb (or commend) it.

To my relief, I received a positive reply last week with some encouraging comments. Getting praise from a published author gives me validation for my hard work. A huge thank you to established authors for continuing to support and encourage newer writers. 

p.s. Next week, I'll be changing the format of my blog. Instead of using Cantonese phrases at the start of each post, I'll be providing Chinese proverbs in English (courtesy of Chinese Proverbs, collected by Ruthanne Lum McCunn).