父親節，是一年中特別感謝父親而慶祝的節日，始於二十世紀初的美國。每個國家的父親節日期都不盡相同，通常在六月的第三個星期日，有各種不同的慶祝方式，大部分都與贈送禮物、家庭聚餐或活動有關。Father’s Day is the third Sunday in June, when children give cards and presents to their fathers to show that they love them.
父親，a father is a male parent of a child or animal，親䁥的叫法（terms of endearment）有 dad, daddy, pa, papa, poppa, pop, and pops。祖先，a person’s male ancestors are called forefathers, people who are related to you living in the past。The adjective “paternal” refers to a father comparable to “maternal” for a mother. The verb “to father” means to become the father of a child by making a woman pregnant, and it also means to create new ideas or refers to a new way of doing something. 創立新思想，發明新方法。
A male role-model that children can look up to is sometimes referred to as a father-figure 父親般的人物，受尊敬的長者。A father figure is an older man regarded with affection and respect by others like a father because he will give advice and help to them. Father Time 手拿鐮刀和沙漏的時間老人，是西方古時象徵時間的虛構人物：an imaginary figure who symbolizes the flow of time and its effects。
嚐遍百草的神農氏，是中國醫藥的鼻祖，the father of Chinese medicine。The father of something is the first man doing something or to introduce a new way of thinking about something，通常指創始人，發起人，奠基者，先驅，鼻祖：Galileo is often called the “father of modern science”，加里略是現代科學的先驅；Henry Moore is considered to be the father of modern British sculpture，亨利・穆爾被認為是現代英國雕塑之父。The founding father of an institution, organization, or idea is the person who sets it up or who first develops it. The Founding Fathers of the United States were the members of the American Constitutional Convention of 1787. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson are considered two of the founding fathers of America，漢密爾頓和傑佛遜二人，被公認為創制美國憲法的元勛。
Like father, like son
Like father, like son generally means people usually behave like their parents，許多兒子不僅外表像父親，性格和處世也受父親的影響，正所謂有其父，必有其子。Fathers and sons resemble each other, and sons tend to do what their fathers did before them. When we say his father’s son, that means he looks like his father, he is a chip off the old block who resembles his parent in appearance, character and behaviour：好似一個模子裏出來的，相貌、性格和行為都酷似父親，it runs in the family。英國田園詩人 William Wordsworth 的詩 “My Heart Leaps Up” 中的名句，the child is father of the man，也有近似以小見大的意思：People’s personalities are formed when they are children；a person will have the same qualities as an adult that he had as a child。遺傳無法改變。我們從祖先身上遺傳得來的特質，也將傳給我們的子孫，from father to son, one generation of a family to the next，從父到子，世代相傳。三歲看七十，只要觀察小孩的性格，就可以知道他未來是個怎樣的人，流行的說法是：What is bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh 江山易改，本性難移。
Son 也有廣義的用法：informally, son can be a form of address that is used by an older man to a young man：英、美國家年長者對年輕男子或男孩愛稱 son，等同漢語的「孩子」：Well, son, how can I help you? 那麼，孩子，我能為你做點什麽？
一地之子，一個國家最著名的人物，son of a particular place or the most famous sons of a country，也有人愛用 a favourite son。無論運動員、演員、政治家，報章喜歡稱呼他們為故鄉的驕子：their favourite son where they were born。美國傳媒尤其樂用 a favourite son 形容出生在某個地方的著名政治人物，a famous person, especially a politician, who is supported and praised by people in the area they come from: Ladies and Gentleman. Let me introduce to you the favourite son of Hope, Arkansas: Bill Clinton，阿肯色州希望鎮之子克林頓。
慣用語 a son of a gun，在美國和澳洲，可以有多個不同的解釋和用法：
1. A man who is unpleasant or who has made you angry: He’s one mean son of gun—so be careful around him.
2. A way of referring to a person or an object which is causing annoyance and problems for you: The computer’s crashed and I don’t know how to get the son of a gun working again.
3. Used to express surprise.
4. If you call a man or a boy a son of a gun 老傢伙，it is a humorous way of showing affection for them 對伙伴戲謔性的䁥稱：The little son of a gun has done it again—he’s won all his bets 他這個老傢伙又再贏錢了；I hear you’re getting married again, you old son of a gun 我聽說你又要結婚了，你這個老傢伙！
本專欄逢周二、五刊登
