parasite: applies to one who clings to a person of wealth, power, or influence or is useless to society: a jet-setter with the usual entourage of ~.   （jet-setter常乘飞机旅行的富豪）  (entourage随从;随行人员)


sycophant: adds to this a strong suggestion of fawning, flattery or adulation: a  military dictator who would only listen to ~.


toady: stresses the servility and snobbery of self-seekers: the president's own ~ made others grovel.  (self-seeker: 自私自利的人)  （grovel: 1、卑躬屈膝俯首帖耳 2、爬行=crawl如找东西）


hanger-on: usually contemptuous, refers to someone who habitually keeps company with or depends unduly on others for favor:
kept tripping on her ~.


leech: stresses persistence in clinging to or bleeding another for one's own advantage: ~ who abandoned her when the money ran out.


sponge: stresses the parasitic laziness, dependence, opportunism, and pettiness of the cadger: her brother, a shiftless ~, often came by for a free meal. (cadger乞丐，索要的人)


parasite寄生虫: 依附权势，对社会无用的人，sycophant谄媚: 增加了谄媚奉承(fawning,flattery,adulation都是谄媚奉承,不区分)，toady马屁（百万英镑里的店员叫Tod，暗指这个词）: 谄媚势力的自私的人，hanger-on也是随从:  如影随形般追随依赖(habitually keeps company with...)，leech吸血水蛭: 象水蛭一样依附吸血，sponge海绵、揩蹭好处: 乞丐般懒惰依赖投机琐屑。


记忆方法： 1） 首字母组合PLS THS: 请、这个<==谄媚的语言


           2）谄媚的意思是谄媚奉承或自私自利的人mean an obsequious flatter or self-seeker.