“家丑”怎么说
一个大家都不陌生的笑话:老师问谁见过男女混合双打,有学生回答他前一天晚上刚刚看过。于是,老师请他描述当时的情形,学生则回答:Oh, sorry, sir. My father always says, 'Domestic shame should not be published'。 显然,学生所说的“mixed double”(男女混合双打)指的是“父母打架”,而“domestic shame”则就是我们常说的“家丑”了。既然是“家丑”,没几个人愿意到处张扬,所以,就“神韵”而言,“family skeleton”(直译:家里的骷髅)或许比“domestic shame”更形象。 “Family skeleton”(家丑)源于俚语“skeleton in one's closet”(东掖西藏的丑事),实质上,特定语境下,后者也可表达“家丑”。就词源而言,“skeleton”(骷髅)能与“(家)丑”挂上钩,来自一个颇为阴森的“爱情”故事—— 传说,有对恩爱夫妇一直被大家羡慕,人们都觉得妻子是世界上最幸福的女人,可有一天,妻子却说出了鲜为人知的秘密:她丈夫每晚都命令她去吻藏在家中壁橱里的骸骨——那是他曾经的恋人,也是被他丈夫杀死的情敌。随着时间的推移,“skeleton in one's closet/cupboard”常被人们用来指代“极力遮掩的(家)丑事”,而“family skeleton”则成了“家丑”的代名词。 此外,“家丑不可外扬”常用谚语“Do not wash your dirty linen in public”来表达。
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