关于“好坏参半”的表达
“十一”黄金周刚过,公司上班、同学见面,第一句问话往往是“嗨,假期咋样?” 恐怕居半数人的回答是:“还行,不好也不坏”。这“不好也不坏”如何用英语来表达?“Just so so”? 或许,我们还可改用其它说法,比如:“Like the vicar's egg”。 Vicar's egg直译为“助理牧师的鸡蛋”,其渊源确实与助理牧师有关。1895年,“Punch”(《笨拙》)杂志刊登了一幅题为“True Humility”(《真正的谦虚》)的漫画,漫画中,胆小的助理牧师与主教共餐时,虽分得一只坏鸡蛋却不敢要求更换,硬说该蛋也有部分是极好的。当然,“坏了一半的鸡蛋”等于“鸡蛋全坏”,《笨拙》意在讽刺那些畏怯权贵的胆小鬼。不过,随着时间的推移,Vicar's egg竟真的贬义褒用,用来指“好坏参半”的事物。 值得一提的是,较之Vicar's egg,日常生活中人们更常用curate's egg(vicar和curate近义,都指“助理牧师”),看例句:
A: Ah Tom, how was your holiday?(嗨,汤姆,假期过的如何?)
B: Somewhat of a curate's egg, I'm afraid; the hotel was lovely, but it rained a lot.(还凑合,旅馆不错,不过,整个假期一直下雨。)
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