大家應該都有經驗,明明覺得學了很久英文、清楚各種文法,也熟悉許多單字片語,可是有時候一出國或跟外國朋友聊天的時候還是會碰壁、聽不懂他們話中的意思。
像是聽到人家說 Your presentation just blew me away. Well done on that one! 如果你腦中出現一陣風把他吹走的話,一定會滿頭霧水,畢竟這裡的 blow someone away 其實不是它字面的意思,它到底是指什麼呢,趕緊看下去吧!
◎ blow someone away
Blow 有「吹」的意思,如果某件事物 blow someone away 的話,意思是指它讓某人印象很深刻或讓某人十分驚喜。
Dr. Young’s speech totally blew me away. I was so glad I got to be there!(Young 博士的演講讓我印象十分深刻。我好開心我有去聽!)
◎ Greek to someone
Greek 意思是「希臘人(的)、希臘語(的)」,但如果聽到人家說 something is Greek to someone 則表示某人對某個東西一竅不通。
The whole makeup thing is Greek to my boyfriend. I asked him to buy an eyebrow pencil, but he bought an eyeliner instead.(我男友對化妝品這種東西完全不熟悉。我請他買眉筆但他卻買了眼線。)
◎ be a catch
Catch 常用的意思是「接住、捕捉」,但其實 catch 還可以指「陷阱、看不到的圈套」。
The house is located in a perfect area, but it’s surprisingly cheap. I wonder what the catch is.(這間房子位於一個很完美的地區,但它的價格卻很意外地便宜。我想知道陷阱在哪裡。)
◎ pull oneself together
Pull 有「拉」的意思,那把自己原本失意落魄的精神都拉起來,其實就是在說「振作、打起精神」喔。
We’re running out of time, so you really need to pull yourself together so that we can get out of here as soon as possible.(我們快沒時間了,所以你真的需要好好振作,好讓我們可以盡快離開這裡。)