雞同鴨講

英文:at cross purposes (adv.)

說明:雞同鴨講就是兩人各說各的,談不來。At cross purposes 這個詞於 17 世紀中期之後開始出現,其中 cross purposes 意為「相互誤解;相反的目的」。《牛津英語大辭典》(The Oxford English Dictionary, OED) 及其他大多數字典所列的 at cross purposes 都沒有連字號,但有時仍會見到使用連字號的情況,即 at cross-purposes。Purposes 恆為複數。

例句:

  • John found himself at cross purposes with his wife. (約翰發覺他跟他太太雞同鴨講)
  • They were talking at cross-purposes. (他們各說各的,雞同鴨講,談不來)
  • We’re at cross purposes. I’m asking you a favor, but you’re talking about Sam’s new girlfriend. (我們雞同鴨講。我請你幫我一個忙,但你卻是談論山姆的新女友)

翻白眼

英文:roll one’s eyes (at someone) (v.)

說明:這通常表示不悅、不耐煩或不相信。

例句:

  • Don’t roll your eyes at me! (不要對我翻白眼!)
  • My wife rolled her eyes (at me) when I asked her not to dress that way. (當我要求我太太不要那樣穿時,她對我翻白眼)

雞皮疙瘩

英文:goose bumps or goosebumps; goose pimples; gooseflesh (n.)

說明:(因寒冷、害怕或興奮而) 起雞皮疙瘩,英文叫做 have/get goose bumps,而使人起雞皮疙瘩叫做 give someone goose bumps;至於「雞皮疙瘩掉滿地」,則是 a lot of goosebumps。

例句:

  • Whenever I hear that old song, I get goose bumps. (每當我聽到那首老歌,我都會起雞皮疙瘩)
  • I never have goose pimples, but my teeth chatter when it’s cold. (我從未起雞皮疙瘩,但天氣寒冷時,我的牙齒會打哆嗦)
  • Mr. Chen and his wife called each other by cutesy pet names that gave me a lot of goosebumps. (陳先生和他太太互以肉麻的寵物名字稱呼對方,讓我雞皮疙瘩掉滿地)

翻舊帳;舊事重提

英文:rake over the ashes/coals (v.)

說明:事實上,rake over 這個片語動詞 (phrasal verb) 的意思就是「翻舊帳」,其受詞可放在 rake 和 over 之間或 over 之後,但以後者居多。

例句:

  • There’s no point in raking over the past. (翻舊帳毫無意義)
  • There’s no point in raking over the ashes – all that happened twenty years ago, and there’s nothing we can do about it now. (舊事重提已沒什麼意義了 - 那一切都發生在二十年前,現在我們也無能為力了)
  • His wife always rakes over the coals of their old unpleasant things when she is angry. (他太太一生氣就會將他們之間不愉快的往事重新搬出來)

醫美

英文:aesthetic medicine (n.)

說明:醫美為醫學美容的簡稱。aesthetic medicine 與 cosmetic/plastic surgery (整形外科) 並不相同;同樣地,doctor of aesthetic medicine (醫美醫生) 亦有別於 cosmetic/plastic surgeon (整形外科醫生)。

例句:

  • Bruce is a doctor of aesthetic medicine. (布魯斯是醫美醫生)
  • Dr. White is a member of American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine (AAAM). (懷特醫生是美國醫美學會的會員)

擺臭臉

英文:mean mug (v.)

說明:這兩個字合起來當動詞用,其中 mean 意為「意圖;打算」,而 mug 為俚語,意為「扮鬼臉;做怪相」。mean mug 後面往往接人當受詞,即 to mean mug someone,意為「對某人擺臭臉」。

例句:

  • Why are you mean mugging? (你為何擺著一副臭臉呢?)
  • I went to that party, and that chick was mean mugging me all night. (我去參加那個派對,而那個妞整晚都對我擺著臭臉)