Quote Originally Posted by Throbert McGee View Post
However, I really had no idea of the correct preposition if you throw garlic "at" someone (meaning "to throw it in someone's general direction, intending to hit them with it but not necessarily succeeding in hitting the target.")
"На" implies that you throw it "on" from above, as if it falls "on the surface/object". Я бросил чеснок на стол. So when you said "на Paul" (oops, we got a pun here) it means you threw garlic at Paul from above, for example, from a window.
"В" = "at". Я бросил чеснок в стену. Here I wanted to strike the wall.

I also have great trouble with expressions like "to kiss someone's hand"; "to slap someone's cheek"; "to hit someone in the nose"; "to step on someone's foot," "to pin a medal on someone's coat," "to spill paint/sauce/mud on someone's clothes," etc. (cases where there are logically two direct objects -- the person, and some thing or body part associated with the person.)
to kiss someone's hand = поцеловать [чью-нибудь] руку
to hit someone in the nose = ударить [кого-нибудь] в нос (по носу)
to step on someone's foot = наступить на [чью-нибудь] ногу
to pin a medal on someone's coat = приколоть медаль на [чей-нибудь] мундир/китель