[交流] 【魅力英语】10 American Slang Terms and Phrases That Confuse Brits (Part 3)

10 American Slang Terms and Phrases That Confuse Brits (Part 3)

今天给大家带来的是 让英国人困惑的美国俚语（第三部分），可以让我们在学习知识的同时，感受英语文化的魅力。     （From BBC America）

Like any other language, American has its idioms. Some are very similar to British English, and it is not difficult for Brits to figure them out. "Peaks and valleys," for example, is obviously the American version of "peaks and troughs." However, there are still some phrases whose actual words hold no clue to the meaning, creating a conversational minefield for Brits here. Here are a selection of them.
trough
n. 水槽；低谷期
For example:
American bank shares have risen by 60% since their trough last October. 美国的银行股自从去年10月跌入低谷以来已经上涨了60%。
minefield
n. 雷区；危机四伏的局势，充满问题的情况
For example:
The whole subject is a political minefield. 整个话题就是一个政治上的雷区。

7. Monday morning quarterback(ing)  放马后炮（的人）
Perhaps you’d guess from the “quarterback” clue that this is an American football analogy, but some Brits would be completely stumped. To be a “Monday morning quarterback” is to criticize or pass judgment from a position of hindsight. The quarterback is a football team’s key leader and decision maker out on the field. Since many people watch football games over the weekend, there’s usually lots of heated discussion about the quarterback’s performance on Monday mornings around the water cooler and on TV.
analogy
n. 相似；类比
For example:
The analogy is rather farfetched. 这个比方有点驴唇不对马嘴。
stump
v. （把某人）难住；使为难；笨重地行走；
For example:
John is stumped by an unexpected question. 一个意想不到的问题把约翰难住了。

8. Carpetbagger  （到自以为会得势的地方参加竞选的）外来政客
Over the next two years, you’ll hear this term when politicians start taking shots at each other in a bid for the Presidency. No, it’s not quite the same as “ratbag” or the other bag beginning with “D”; the phrase was originally used to refer to northerners who went south after the Civil War to make money, often using nefarious means. They carried their belongings in over-sized carpetbags. Now it refers mainly to politicians who seek election somewhere they have never previously resided, and is also used to describe people or corporations who profit from other people’s misfortune.
ratbag
n. 怪人；讨厌的人
For example:
I used to think 90 per cent of the human race were a bunch of ratbags. 我以前觉得十个人里有九个都是讨厌的家伙。
nefarious
adj. 恶毒的；违法的
For example:
The bomber's nefarious deed destroyed many innocent lives. 轰炸机邪恶的行为摧毁了许多无辜的生命。
He guarded his nefarious doings from view. 他不让别人看到自己的罪恶行径。

9. Taking a rain check  改天
Although many Brits have heard this expression, it’s one we never quite know if we’ve understood, so we just nod agreeably. Originally a rain check was a baseball term whereby, if the game was rained out, spectators received a rain check or ticket to allow them entrance to a future game. These days it has little to do with weather and is used more widely, to mean that the event will be re-scheduled for a mutually agreeable date. When turning down a dinner invitation, for example, you can subtly communicate your desire to be re-invited by asking for a rain check.
spectator
n. 观众，旁观者
For example:
A spectator threw the ball back to the players. 一个观众把球掷回给球员。
subtly
adv. 巧妙地；精细地
For example:
The truth is subtly different. 事实略有不同。
These events were all subtly linked together. 这些事都被微妙地联系在一起。

10. Pork  支持政党上台所分到的好处，政治分肥
Ah yes, I know this one. Wasn’t there an ad campaign a few years ago that tagged pork as “the other white meat”? Not that one? As the Presidential election approaches, this is another word we’ll be hearing more frequently on the news; it refers to the practice of politicians obtaining money for pet projects that benefit specific areas, industries or people, usually in return for their support. “Pork barrel politics” is another phrase you’ll hear to describe this “you scratch my back” politics.
barrel
n. 桶；枪管     vt. 把...装进桶里     vi. 快速移动
For example:
The suppers are always a barrel of laughs. 晚餐总是充满欢乐。
you scratch my back
you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours  形容相互帮助
For example:
If you give me a hand clearing the rubbish from my garden, I'll help you paint your house - you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. 你帮我清扫花园，我帮你粉刷房子--相互帮助嘛。



10 American Slang Terms and Phrases That Confuse Brits系列就连载到这里，之后会给大家带来更多实用、有趣的魅力英语 (￣︶￣)

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往期节目回顾
【魅力英语】She lost him, but she found herself, and somehow that was everything   https://https://muchong.com/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=9954571
【魅力英语】10 American Slang Terms and Phrases That Confuse Brits (Part 1)   https://muchong.com/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=10131617
【魅力英语】10 American Slang Terms and Phrases That Confuse Brits (Part 2)   https://muchong.com/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=10205740