美国习语很多都来自日常的生活经验。甚至有的还反映了两百年前打仗的形式,例如,美国人经常会说某个人是一个:loose cannon。大家都知道, loose 是松散的意思,而 cannon 是指大炮。
Loose cannon 的来历是几百年前当人们在海上作战时,他们往往在船上放好些大炮,每一座大炮放在一个带四个轮子的平台上。在战争间隙的时候,船员们用很粗的绳子把这些大炮栓住,不让它们随便移动。可是,当风暴来临,这些绳子在风浪的冲击下断了以后,大炮就会在船甲板上到处滚动,会把那些不幸就在大炮旁边的船员轧死,这比真正的敌人还要危险。
现在, loose cannon 的意思和打仗并没有什么关系。人们把 loose cannon 用来指一个失去控制、无视权威、打破常轨的人,这种人往往会伤害和他自己站在一边的人。例如,有些美国政府官员在重大问题上擅自采取行动,也不向总统汇报。国会议员就把这些人称为 loose cannon。下面的例子是一个政治家在谈论一个要为他竞选连任参加工作的人:
例句: I know this guy is a smart political worker. But hes hard to control. In fact, hes a loose cannon who might do more damage to our side than the man Im running against.
这句话的意思是:我知道这家伙在政治工作方面很聪明。但是,这个人很难控制。实际上,他就像一个没有约束的大炮,给我们造成的危害可能会比我竞选对手造成的危害更大。
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