Those who wished a favour of the emperor had to grovel on hands and knees before him. 凡希望受到皇帝恩宠的人都要拜倒在他面前.
You will just have to grovel to the bank manager for a loan. 你只得低声下气地向银行经理借贷.
groveling
[ adj ] totally submissive <adj.all>
Grovel \Grov"el\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Groveled}or {Grovelled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Groveling} or {Grovelling}.] [From OE. grovelinge, grufelinge, adv., on the face, prone, which was misunderstood as a p. pr.; cf. OE. gruf, groff, in the same sense; of Scand. origin, cf. Icel. gr[=u]fa, in [=a] gr[=u]fu on the face, prone, gr[=u]fa to grovel.] 1. To creep on the earth, or with the face to the ground; to lie prone, or move uneasily with the body prostrate on the earth; to lie flat on one's belly, expressive of abjectness; to crawl.
To creep and grovel on the ground. --Dryden.
2. To tend toward, or delight in, what is sensual or base; to be low, abject, or mean.
groveling \grov"el*ing\, grovelling \grov"el*ling\, a. Lying prone; low; debased; submissive in a self-abasing manner. ``A groveling creature.'' --Cowper.
"The president seemed sympathetic and surprised, but unless he heard the same message day after day he wasn't about to act against his own secretary of state," Funderburk says; the "groveling" continued.
I got to shine like a pornographic stained-glass window instead of groveling at his feet."
Some stalwart gay revolutionaries feel strongly that appealing for acceptance through advertising bespeaks groveling capitulation and conformitarianism.
To some, all this seems a bit like groveling to the economic enemy.