A Bit of English Slang
Golf is not my cup of tea.
Guess what this sentence means. Don’t focus on the literal(字面的) meaning. Get it? Yes, it means “golf is not my interest.” Why? Because one’s cup of tea is slang with the meaning of “something one is interested in”, which is used in negative (否定的) sentences, we can’t understand the sentence literally. When studying English and communicating with English-speaking people, we at times hear slang, which usually puzzles us.
First let’s make it clear what slang is. Slang is words, phrases, etc., commonly used in talk but not suitable for good writing or formal occasions, esp. the kind used by and typical (典型的) of a class of persons.
Now let’s come to some more examples of English slang. You may hear people say “It rained cats and dogs last night.” Did cats and dogs really come down with the rain? No. It rains cats and dogs means it rains heavily.
What about R & R? Ok, read the following sentence and then you’ll catch the meaning. “After the mid-term examinations, we do need R & R.” If you are clever enough, you’ll have no trouble understanding that R & R has the meaning of “ rest and relaxation”.
As some of you have wondered whether there is slang in the language of Chinese. The answer is positive. For example, “sa ya zi (撒丫子) ” of Beijing dialect does not has the meaning of “scatter the toes” (撒开脚趾头),but that of “run as fast as possible” (放开步子跑). You see, Chinese and other languages share a lot. The soul of language is for people to express themselves freely and vividly. So try to enjoy the charm of language.
Of all slang, a rain check is among the most famous and often used. It is popular American spoken English, coming from baseball (棒球)matches held in the open. Baseball is one of Americans’ favorite sports. If a baseball match had to be cancelled (取消) because of a sudden rain, each spectator (观众) would be offered a rain check, with which they could watch the next match free.
But now a rain check has extended meanings, which can be commonly used in daily life. Suppose your friend wants to invite you to dinner tonight, but you are busy. Then you can say “Could you give me a rain check?”,which serves as your promise of accepting next invitation.
I’m afraid I have to close and go beddy bye now because I’m tired and need to rise early tomorrow morning. Have you figured out the meaning of go beddy bye? If your answer is “go to bed”, you’ll have the reason to smile.
英语俚语点滴
王恩来
高尔夫球不是我的 cup of tea。
猜猜这句话是什么意思。不要把注意力集中在字面意思上。猜出来了吗?是的,它的意思是“高尔求球不是我的所好。”为什么?因为one’s cup of tea是俚语,意思是“使某人感兴趣的东西”,用在否定句中,所以我们不能从字面上理解本句的意思。在我们学习英语和与讲英语的人交流时,会经常遇到俚语,这往往会让我们感到一头雾水。
首先,让我们搞清楚什么是俚语。俚语是一般用于谈话,但不适用于好的写作或正式场合的单词、短语等,尤其指某一阶层人士的惯用语。
现在让我们再看一些英语俚语的例子。你会听人们说“昨天夜里天上下了cats and dogs(猫和狗)。” 难道猫和狗真地随着雨从天而降?不。It rains cats and dogs 的意思是“下倾盆大雨”。
R & R 又怎样呢?好吧,读一读下面的句子,你就明白了。“期中考试之后,我们确实需要R & R。”如果你足够聪明,你就会轻而易举地懂得R & R表达“休息和放松”之意。
你们有人想知道汉语是否也有俚语,答案是肯定的。例如,北京方言“撒丫子”不是说“撒开脚趾头”,而是“放开步子跑”。你看,汉语和其他语言有许多相通之处。语言的灵魂就是让人们自由生动地表达自己。因此,要尽情体味语言的魅力。
在所有的俚语中,a rain check 是最著名最常用的之一。a rain check是美国流行口语,出自露天举行的棒球比赛。棒球是最受美国人欢迎的运动之一。如球赛突然因雨而不得不取消,观众就会被赠给a rain check (雨票),可以凭该票免费看下一场球赛。
但是,现在a rain check有其延伸意思,被普遍用于日常生活。假设你的朋友今天想邀你共进晚餐,可是你抽不出时间。那么,你就可以说:“你能给我a rain check吗?”,作为你下次有请必到的承诺。
恐怕我现在不得不止笔,并且go beddy bye了,因为我累了,明天早上还得早起呢。你琢磨出go beddy bye的意思了吗?如果你的回答是“去睡觉”,你就有理由微笑了。