学英语的人都知道,莎士比亚为英语词汇的发展做出了卓越的贡献,我们现在使用的很多词汇和表达都是源于莎翁的作品,比如salad days、green-eyed monster等。今天,我们就为大家盘点出源自于莎士比亚作品的10个常用短语,看过之后会不会立马觉得这些短语高大上了呢?
1. Green-Eyed Monster: 嫉妒
How Shakespeare used it:
The evil Iago plants doubts in Othello's mind about his wife's faithfulness, while advising him, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on." (Othello, Act 3, Scene 3)
莎士比亚原文:邪恶的伊阿古让奥赛罗对妻子的忠心起了疑心,提醒他说,“噢,大人,要小心嫉妒之心!那可是一只绿眼的妖魔,它惯于耍弄爪下的猎物。”(《奥赛罗》,第3幕第3场)
现代例句:
".... if jealousy wasn't a factor, three out of every four married people were highly satisfied with the emotional facets of their marriage. However, when the 'green-eyed monster' entered the mix, levels of satisfaction dropped to less than half for married folk." — Michelle Lodge, HealthDay.com, Feb. 12, 2010
2. In a Pickle: 处于困境
How Shakespeare used it:
In The Tempest, King Alonso asks his jester, Trinculo, "How camest thou in this pickle?" And the drunk Trinculo – who has indeed gotten into trouble – responds "I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last ..." (Act 5, Scene 1)
莎士比亚原文:在《暴风雨》中,那不勒斯国王阿朗索问他的弄臣特林鸠罗,“你怎么让自己到这般境地了?”的确深陷困境且已烂醉的特林鸠罗回答说:“我自从上次参见过您之后就一直处于这般境地了…”(第5幕第1场)
One theory has it that the phrase in a pickle entered English from an old Dutch expression that translates as something like "sit in the pickle"。
有一种说法认为in a pickle这个短语来源于一个古代的荷兰语表达,类似于“坐在咸菜缸”里这样一个说法。
现代例句:
"Has the NYT got itself into a pickle over digital editions on Kindle and iPad?" — adamhodgkin on Twitter, May 6, 2010
3. Love Is Blind: 爱是盲目的
This phrase has more than one meaning: we overlook flaws in those we love (that's good), but love can blind us to serious issues (that's bad)。
这个短语的意思是:我们会忽略我们爱的人身上的缺点(这点不错);爱会让我们忽视一些严重的问题(这就不好了)。
How Shakespeare used it:
In The Merchant of Venice, Jessica is shy about her beloved Lorenzo seeing her disguised as a boy, but recognizes that it won't affect his love for her, saying, "But love is blind and lovers cannot see / The pretty follies that themselves commit ..." (Act 2, Scene 6)
莎士比亚原文:在《威尼斯商人》中,杰西卡不好意思让深爱的罗伦佐看到她伪装成一个男孩,不过也意识到这并不妨碍他爱她,她说,“可爱情是盲目的,爱侣们看不到他们自己犯下的那些美丽又愚蠢的错误…”(第2幕,第6场)
现代例句:
"Jonathan Rhys Meyers thinks love is blind. The actor ... thinks it is easy to fall for someone without knowing much about them, just like his alter-ego does...." — ShowbizSpy.com, Feb. 7, 2010
4. Salad Days: 一个人的青春年少时光
How Shakespeare used it:
In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra recalls her relationship with Julius Caesar that occurred during, "My salad days, / When I was green in judgment...." (Act 1, Scene 5)
莎士比亚原文:在《安东尼与克莉奥佩特拉》中,克莉奥佩特拉回忆起她与凯撒的那一段感情在“我青春年少的时光,我还不太会看人的时候…”(第1幕第5场)
Originally, English speakers used salad days with Cleopatra's meaning: a time of youthful inexperience or indiscretion. These days, however, it usually means "an early flourishing period" – in other words, a heyday。
最初,英语使用者只用salad days表示克莉奥佩特拉所说的“青春、稚嫩的时光”。不过现在,这个短语通常表示“鼎盛时期”。
现代例句:
"I know there are some people who still think this show is good, or watchable.... Just because there are a few cool things left from the salad days doesn't mean Heroes isn't a mess." — Darren Franich, EntertainmentWeekly.com, Nov. 10, 2009
5. Wear My Heart on My Sleeve: 公开表达感情
How Shakespeare used it:
Discussing his planned betrayal of Othello, the villain Iago says, "But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at: I am not what I am." (Othello, Act 1, Scene 1)
莎士比亚原文:在说到对奥赛罗的背叛计划时,邪恶的伊阿古说,“可是我会敞开心扉,让鸟儿随意翻啄:我并不是你们看到的我。”(《奥赛罗》,第1幕第1场)
现代例句:
"I wear my heart on my sleeve and confessed my true feelings to a man who did not reciprocate. Now I am free to move on ..." — Daydreamin on Twitter, Mar. 12, 2010
6. There's the Rub: 这就是问题所在
How Shakespeare used it:
In Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, "ay, there's the rub" is the tormented prince's acknowledgement that death may not end his difficulties because the dead may perhaps still be troubled by dreams. (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1)
莎士比亚原文:在《哈姆雷特》那句著名的“生存或者死亡”独白中,“唉,这就是问题所在”表示饱受折磨的王子认识到,死亡并不能结束他的痛苦,因为死人可能仍然会被梦境困扰。(《哈姆雷特》,第3幕第1场)
现代例句:
"There's the rub. What does a progressive institution like Smith [College] do when Barbara decides to become Bert? It's a problem." — Roger Kimball, The New Criterion, May 2005
7. Cruel to Be Kind: 要想善良,必先残忍;忠言逆耳
How Shakespeare used it:
"I must be cruel only to be kind; / Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind," says the tormented Hamlet. He has just mistakenly killed Polonius, and it's clear that he doesn't know how bad things are going to get. (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4)
饱受折磨的哈姆雷特说:“要想善良,必先残忍,坏事开了头,更糟糕的还在后面。”他刚刚误杀了波洛尼厄斯,而且很明显他根本不知道事情会糟糕到什么程度。(《哈姆雷特》,第3幕第4场)
现代例句:
"The government has portrayed the cull [of 400 kangaroos] as a necessary case of being cruel to be kind, but the international focus has been mostly on the cruelty." — Tim Johnston, New York Times, Mar. 14, 2008
8. Wild Goose Chase: 复杂又无果的追寻或搜索;徒劳无果
How Shakespeare used it:
In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio likens the rapid exchange of jokes between Romeo and himself to the cross-country horse race of Shakespeare's time, known as the wild goose chase, in which any number of riders tried to keep up with and accurately follow the lead rider's course:
"Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou / hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I / have in my whole five." (Act 2, Scene 4)
莎士比亚原文:在《罗密欧与朱丽叶》中,马库修将他和罗密欧之间机智的笑话比拼比做莎士比亚时期的跨境赛马,即“追野鹅”,比赛中所有骑手都要尽力追上并精准跟随在骑手领袖的阵型中:“不行啊,如果咱们俩的智商比拼像追野鹅那样的话,我就完蛋了,因为你任何一个智慧阵型中的野鹅都比我全部5个阵型里的多。”(第2幕第4场)
现代例句:
"Seriously just went on a wild goose chase for a place to study. Everything is packed so I found an empty classroom in the math building." — TheHeartquake on Twitter, May 11, 2009
9. Dogs of War: 战争的恐惧之处
How Shakespeare used it:
In Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1, a grief-stricken Mark Antony predicts that the instability following Caesar's murder will result in civil war: "Cry 'havoc!' And let slip the dogs of war!"
("Cry havoc" was the military order for soldiers to seize plunder from an enemy。)
莎士比亚原文:在《凯撒大帝》第3幕第1场中,悲伤过度的马克•安东尼预言称,凯撒大帝被谋杀后的不稳定局势会导致内战:“下令抢劫!让战争的恐惧溜走吧!”(Cry havoc是军队中的命令用语,指下令让士兵从敌人手中抢掠。)
现代例句:
"If you doubt that Obama is about to let slip the dogs of war, you need only look back at what he said as a long-shot presidential hopeful in a controversial August 2007 foreign policy speech." — James Gordon Meek, New York Daily News, May 10, 2010
10. Strange Bedfellows: 不可能结盟的两个人;同床异梦
How Shakespeare used it:
When Trinculo seeks shelter from a storm under the cloak of a creature he's very unsure about – he wonders if it's a man or a fish – he comments "misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows." (The Tempest, Act 2, Scene 2)
莎士比亚原文:特林鸠罗在一个他不知为何物的生物的斗篷下躲避暴风雨时,他不知道那是个人还是条鱼,他说:“处于悲惨境地,人可以跟任何东西结成联盟。”(《暴风雨》,第2幕第2场)
现代例句:
"But there's another key reason Philip Morris lobbied hard for FDA regulation, aligning itself with strange bedfellows like the Campaign for Smoke-Free Kids [and] the American Lung Association ..." — Kate Pickert, Time, June 12, 2009
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