◎ when pigs fly
字面上是指「當豬會飛的時候」,這個片語就是用在你要表達某件事情永遠不可能發生。
A: Joe seems to like you a lot. Don’t you want to give him a shot and go out with him just once?(Joe 似乎非常喜歡妳。妳難道連一次都不想給他機會跟他出去嗎?)
B: I will when pigs fly. He used to be really mean to me in middle school, and that’s why I don’t want to see his face ever again.(等到豬會飛的時候我就跟他約會。他中學的時候對我超壞的,那也是為什麼我不想再看到他的臉。)
◎ not think straight
Straight 是指「直直地、筆直地」,而 not think straight 常用來表示「沒有想清楚」。
I wasn’t thinking straight when I let him move in. I didn’t know that he would make such a mess.(我讓他搬進來的時候沒有想清楚。我不知道他會弄得這麼亂。)
◎ go down in flames
Flames 是「火焰」的意思,那 go down in flames 就是像它字面所指「燃燒過後隨著火焰落下來」,言下之意就是「突然又慘烈地失敗」。這個片語也出現在小天后 Taylor Swift 的歌詞〈Blank Space〉”So it's gonna be forever...Or it's gonna go down in flames” 唱著「這段戀情究竟會長長久久...還是會慘烈地收尾呢」,再舉個例子:
The famous producer’s reputation went down in flames when actresses claimed that he had sexually harassed them.(這位很有名製作人的名聲在女演員們控訴他性騷擾她們的時候,就一敗塗地了。)
◎ sell someone on something
這個片語是用來表示「成功說服某人某件事」,好像把這個想法、事件成功賣給某人的樣子。
After the talk, Jason sold me on that business idea, so I’m in as well.(討論過後,Jason 成功說服我那個生意點子了,所以我也加入。)
◎ get someone’s head around it
你可以想像「把某人的頭放在那裡」,就是去理解某事物,所以這個片語其實就是指「了解某事物」。
A: I can’t get my head around the design.
(我無法理解這個設計。)B: Me, neither. I think only true artists can appreciate it.
(我也無法。我想只有真正的藝術家可以欣賞它。)
本文經授權轉載自希平方-看YouTube學英文(原標題:怎麼說一口道地英文?這些片語最實用!)
責任編輯/陳憶慈