據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

新聞 09-21

世界各地有許多說英語的人，他們可能對一些奇奇怪怪的美式英語表達並不陌生，比如bury the hatchet（和解）,pass the buck（推卸責任），但還是有一些美國習語，你看再多好萊塢大片都無法領會。不信？瞅瞅下面這十道題，你能答對幾個~

A John Hancock refers to:

John Hancock是什麼意思？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

A person s signature

An elderly person

A revolutionary

A breakfast sandwish

因為John Hancock在獨立宣言一紙上簽名的字特別大，家喻戶曉，所以後來人們就用"John Hancock 來表示「簽名」的意思。

Thanks to his large signature on the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock became informal shorthand for signature .

If we need to put on the dog , then we would:

如何表現 put on the dog 的樣子？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦點擊播放 GIF/58K

Chase behind a car

Eat hot dogs for dinner

Be servile

Behave in an ostentatious way

這個俗語就是「炫耀、擺闊」的意思，來源不可追溯，有人說它之所以形成是因為以前一些闊太太們經常在接待客人的時候把一隻小狗抱在腿上來眩耀自己的闊氣。

No one knows for sure, but some have suggested the phrase comes from the idea of ladies lap dogs.

A Monday morning quarterback is someone who:

形容一個人是「星期一早晨的四分衛」是什麼意思？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

Loves getting things done at the start of the week

Is an early enthusiast for something

Passes judgment on and criticizes something after the event

Is obsessed with American football

這個短語意為「放馬後炮的人」，來源於球賽的評論。據說某個星期一的早上，美國各大報紙鋪天蓋地擠滿了對上個周末球賽的評論，於是Monday morning quarterback就常被用來比喻「事後諸葛亮」。

The term comes from the practice of offering criticism of American football players on Monday morning (after the Sunday game) with the benefit of hindsight.

If you talked turkey , then you would be:

你準備 talked turkey ，是要做什麼？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

Discuss something frankly and straightforwardly

Lying about your true intentions

Insulting someone behind their back

Obsessed with Thanksgiving planning

這個短語的意思就是「直率地說」，來源已不可追溯，有人說這和美國感恩節有點關係。

No one knows for sure where this expression came from, although some actually have posited a Thanksgiving connection.

Someone who bought the farm has:

某人「買下農場」是什麼意思？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

Paid off a mortgage

Made an awkward comment

Died

Come into new wealth

這是個美國軍事俚語，意為「陣亡，死亡」，詞源也不是非常確定，有一種說法是軍用飛機墜毀在農場里，政府就會「買下那個農場」作為賠償。

From US military slang, etymologists still aren t exactly sure where this phrase comes from, though possibly from the idea of the government owing restitution to farmers whose property was crash-landed on by a military plane.

A Bronx cheer refer to:

Bronx cheer 是什麼意思？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

The sound of a car horn

A sound of derision or contempt made by blowing through closed lips

A chant popularized by fans of the New York Yankees

A stabbing

這個俚語意為「表示嘲笑的噓噓聲」，也可以表述為"blowing a raspberry 。

This is also known as blowing a raspberry .

If you were to lay an egg , then you would be:

如果說你「下蛋」是什麼意思？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

Really angry

Hungry

Completely unsuccessful

Opportunistic

如果說你「下蛋」那就是說你徹底失敗了。除非你是只母雞，那還情有可原……

If you lay an egg then you are completely unsuccessful. Unless you re a hen, in which case you re doing what you should be.

A horse of another color would refer to:

「另一種顏色的馬」是指什麼？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

A missed opportunity

An unrelated matter with distinctly different meaning

The odd one out

A person from a different state

這個表達方式取自莎士比亞的喜劇《第十二夜》中的一句話 a horse of the same color ，意為「完全是另一回事」。

The expression may derive from a quote in Shakespeare s Twelfth Night - a horse of the same color .

If something jumped the shark , then it:

說某樣東西「跳鯊魚」是什麼意思？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦

Went down to Florida for the winter

Avoided payment of overdue loans

Escaped from a dangerous situation

Began a period of inexorable decline in quality or polularity

就是說（電視節目等）失去吸引力。在經典美劇《歡樂時光》某一集的劇情里，Fonzie滑水時從鯊魚身上跳過去。這個劇情設定飽受爭議，並在日後被認為是《歡樂時光》的轉折點，標誌著劇集質量的下降和觀眾群的流失。由此就產生了jump the shark這個短語。

Jump the shark comes from an episode of popular US television show Happy Days , with reference to an episode in which the character Fonzie is water-skiing and jumps over a shark.

Something up the wazoo is:

說某樣東西「臀部之上」是什麼意思？

據說這些美式英語可能讓英國人摸不著頭腦