令美国人糊涂的英式短语 下

6. Swings and roundabouts.

 

Swings and roundabouts 在英式英语中意为“不同的行动或选择最终都造成毫无收益或毫无损失的情况，或所得和所失相抵消”，是不是有点殊途同归或是失之东隅，收之桑榆的意思呢？更为完整的短语是”to gain on the swings and lose on the roundabouts”。例如，I don't want to have to, but it's swings and roundabouts.

 

7. Horses for courses.

 

Horses for courses 是英国谚语，意为“不同的人适合不同的事物”，其出处是短语” Different race horses would perform better on different racecourses / 不同的赛马在不同的赛道上各有更好表现”，真是各有所长或是各有所爱的含义吧。例如：So I'm not interested in politics, it's horses for courses.

 

8. He's got the hump.

 

短语 get / have / give someone the hump 的出处并不清楚，可能是与骆驼相关，其含义为“变得或令人恼怒、无缘故发脾气”，例如”fans get the hump when they lose”或”Debate has been raging¹ about road safety, with people across London getting the hump.”

 

9. I need to spend a penny

 

在英国，曾经需要花费一个 penny 使用一次投币式公共厕所，这就是短语 spend a penny 替代“小便”的委婉说法，例如”you can't get to sleep when you want to spend a penny”。

 

10. He's on the pull

 

例句中的 pull 和 attractions 之间看起来有很明显的关联。短语 on the pull 在英式非正式语境中指企图吸引某人上床，例如”an eligible² bachelor on the pull”或”I remember now why I'm not interested in going on the pull.”

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