| 释义 |
push someone's buttons, to push someone's buttonsAlso, press someone's buttons. Draw a strong emotional reaction from someone, especially anger or sexual arousal. For example, My mother-in-law really knew how to push my buttons, or A good-looking redhead, she always seemed to press his buttons. This metaphoric expression transfers activating some mechanism by pushing buttons to human emotions. [Slang; 1920s] See also: button, pushpush (or press) someone's buttons be successful in arousing or provoking a reaction in someone. informalSee also: button, pushpush someone's buttons, toTo draw a strong emotional response from someone, usually negative. The term originated in the first half of the 1900s and has become a cliché. For example, “I said some negative things about the current administration and that really pushed Mary’s buttons—she exploded.” See also rub the wrong way. See also: push |