切记:千万别把Say uncle翻译为叫叔叔
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文本:
今天我们来分享另一个地道但会引起歧义的英语表达say uncle,那么什么是“叫叔叔”呢?在回答这个问题之前,一如既往,让我们先来看一个英文例句:
For example:
You have tried your best but I think it is time to say uncle.
大家可以先猜一下这句话中的say uncle是什么意思。
根据Urban Dictionary字典的解释,我们可以用英文来表述:to give in or to surrender它的意思就是我们中文里说的认输或者投降,你猜对了吗?
另外,认输除了说to give in, to surrender, to say uncle还有一个更加地道的表达:throw in the towel
throw in the towel的字面意思是:把毛巾抛向空中。
For example:
When you want to throw in the towel, what keeps you motivated in difficult situations?
当你想要认输时,是什么在困境中给你动力?
那么为什么throw in the towel会引申为放弃和投降意思呢?原来在拳击赛场,当一方选手感到体力不支,他/她的教练或者团队成员就会立刻抛出一块毛巾(通常为白色)表示投降认输,以确保运动员的生命安全。
For example:
Every time I feel like I wanna throw in the towel, my mother would always encourage me.
每次我感到想要放弃的时候,母亲总会鼓励着我。
总结,我们今天学了say uncle和throw in the towel,它们都表示放弃和投降,近义词还有:give in, give up, admit defeat或者surrender等等。