一下 “fat” 一下 “thin” 的俚語與胖瘦沒有關係,以後再也不會誤會有人在批評誰胖誰瘦了!

“Fat” 是形容詞也是名詞
現代的人聽到「脂肪」就怕
常常忘記身體如果沒有脂肪就活不下去了
最原始的 “fat” 也有許多不同的用法
像是 “fat chance” 與 “chew the fat”
還有最有趣的是:
“It’s not over until the fat lady sings”
“Thin” 的用法也是多彩多姿
像是堅強的感情可以經歷 “thick and thin”
如果對一件事情認真的話
(For example: learn English!)
學習與突破的精神就永遠不會 “wear thin”

有關 fat、thin 的相關俚語

Fat chance:渺小的機會;沒有希望

直接的翻譯很可能會把 “fat chance” 想成「好康」或「好機會」,可是那是完全錯誤的。”Fat chance” 來自反諷的態度,通常是用來描述不可能發生的事情,讓強烈的用語造成強烈的對比。

Flora met a handsome young man at the restaurant. He begged Flora to pay for his meal because he didn’t have any money on him. He thanked her repetitively, told her that he was going to run to the ATM, and immediately pay her back. Half an hour later, Flora realized that, it was a fat chance that he was coming back.
弗洛拉在餐廳遇見一位年輕英俊的男子。他因為沒有帶錢,請求弗洛拉幫他付賬。他不斷的感謝她,並告訴她,他趕到提款機之後馬上還她錢。半小時後,弗洛拉領悟到他回來的機會是很渺小的。

片語教學:機會渺小 (What does fat chance mean?)

Chew the fat:閒聊

“Chew the fat” 沒有確實的證明它是如何被發明的。有的想法是因為早期的人沒有什麼零食,工人,船員,沒事會吃一點有鹽熏脂肪,順便聊天。大致上來講,就是中文說的「動動嘴巴,講講話的意思」。

Felicity is a strict boss who forbids gossip at the office. Therefore, at the Christmas party, everyone was pleasantly surprised that, she spent hours socializing, and chewed the fat with everyone.
費莉絲蒂是一位嚴格的老闆,禁止員工在辦公室講八卦。因此當她在聖誕派對花了很多時間交際,並與每一個人閒聊,大家都高興的感到驚訝。

When Faith found out her friend Faye has been fired, she invited her out for coffee, chewed the fat with her for a while on random topics, and encouraged her to write a brand new resume.
當費絲聽說她的朋友菲伊被解僱了,她邀請她出去喝咖啡,與她閒聊了一些隨機的話題,並鼓勵她寫了一個全新的履歷。

It’s not over until the fat lady sings:要等到胖的女士唱歌才算是結束;要到遊戲結束才知道輸贏;遊戲還沒有結束

“It’s not over until the fat lady sings” 聽起來真的很奇怪。簡單的解釋是可以想像成去聽歌劇的人沒有耐心,坐不住了,旁邊的人叫他安份點,要等到最後有一位體態豐滿的女士出來獨唱才可以離開。其實唱歌劇的人也不是全部是豐滿的,可是在大眾的印象裡,通常都看過穿著禮服,豐滿的女士在台上表演。後來類似的影射被美國的棒球主播拿來比喻為球賽還沒有結束以前,不要太早的定論誰會贏。有的人聯想為棒球賽的節目會包括一位來賓在球場唱美國國歌。可是唱國歌是代表球賽的開始,而且不論男女,胖瘦的人都可以表演。無論如何,活潑的俚語已經成為英文的一部分了。

Even thou the football team was badly losing the game, the coach didn’t want his players to feel defeated. During halftime, he asked if anyone hears a woman singing. When they answered “no”, he told them that they must keep playing their best game, because it’s not over until the fat lady sings.
即使足球隊正在比賽中嚴重的落後,教練不希望他的隊員感到洩氣。在中場休息時,他問有沒有人聽到一個女人在唱歌。當他們回答「沒有」,他告訴他們,他們必須保持自己最好的比賽狀況,因為直到胖女人唱歌,輸贏還沒有決定。

Thick and thin:不論好壞;不畏艱險;在不同的情況下

“Thick and thin” 與胖瘦薄的厚的沒有關係。通常都是用來形容人與人之間的關係,也是類似中文說的「有福同享,有難同當」的意思。

Theo and Thea are equal partners of a successful bed and breakfast that features a different art theme each year. The partnership has been through thick and thin, but because of their dedication and hard work, the artistic bed and breakfast has become an attraction, and created many job opportunities for the local residents.
西奧和西婭一起經營一個成功的民宿,每年還提供不同的藝術主題。 夥伴的關係一直是同甘共苦,而因為他們的奉獻和辛勤工作,藝術風格的民俗已成為一個景點,並為了當地居民創造了大量的就業機會。

英語學習-慣用成對語 (Speaking English – How to use idiomatic pairs)

Wear thin:打折扣;逐渐消失;感覺興味索然

“Wear thin” 是非常直接的比喻。如果一件衣服穿久了自然的就會有磨損。人的情感如果不好好的維持,也很容易的逐漸變的淡薄。

Theron is an outdoor sports fanatic who is always trying out new activities such river tracing, kayaking, or scuba diving. Nevertheless, during the rainy season of endless thunderstorms and unexpected typhoons, his outdoor enthusiasm is wearing thin, and he begins to participate in more indoor activities.
塞隆是一個戶外運動的狂熱者,總是嘗試新的活動:溯溪,皮划艇,或潛水。然而,在雨季期間,不斷的雷雨與突然的颱風,他對戶外的熱情也削減見,並開始參加更多的室內活動。

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文/王傳瑄
參考資料/Wikipedia, Yahoo
作者簡介/VoiceTube看影片學英語

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