Picking it to pieces 吹毛求疵

An art critic was used to criticizing very severely¹ and in a very detailed² way.

 

When he was commenting on one painting and then on another in the gallery, he pointed³ at a picture and said: "It's showing a marked lack of technique and understanding. Look! Those trees seem to have no form, and the grass has not roots. And here you see the artist had attempted to draw a fly to catch the public eye, I would not disapprove⁴ of it if he had been able to draw it better and made it like a fly. But this fly looks like a lump of mud and has not the character of a fly."

 

At this point while the critic was still rambling⁵, the fly on that picture suddenly look wing and flew away.

 

有个美术评论家习惯于吹毛求疵。

 

当他在美术馆里评论一幅幅画作时，就指着一幅画说：“这幅画显得缺乏技巧和领悟，瞧！那些树看来不像样，那些草也没有跟。你们再看这里，作者还特地画了一只苍蝇来引人注意。要是他能画的更好些，使它像只苍蝇，我也不会发对。可是这只苍蝇就像一块烂泥，也没有苍蝇的特征。”

 

正当这位评论家还在喋喋不休地大发议论时，画上那只苍蝇忽然张开翅膀飞走了。

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