Dear Sir:
In the news, I read that the trial of Saddam Hussein in Iraq was often called "a shambles". I'm wondering, like, why "shambles"? Why plural? Why not "a shamble"?
- Very Puzzled.
Dear Very Puzzled:
In this day of loose values (and not just in linguistics), anything goes. Some people actually call the trial of Saddam Hussein "a shamble", but it's not correct English.
"Shambles" is NOT the plural form of "shamble". They are two different words.
The Shambles is said to have been an ancient street in York, England occupied by butchers who set up slaughterhouses there. The slaughterhouses have long been gone, but the word "shambles" has persevered in the language. It means a situation that is chaotic (imagine scenes at a slaughterhouse, if you can) because things are not properly planned or organized.
The word "shamble", on the other hand, is a slow, awkward walk, as if dragging one's feet in a tired, weak or lazy way.
Let's take the very trial of Saddam Hussein, for examples.
This BBC report (Two sides of Saddam coin, October 19, 2005) used the word "shamble" to describe how Saddam dragged his feet on his way out of the courtroom:
There was a final moment of resistance just as the court was adjourned to consider the request from the defense for more time to examine the documents produced by the prosecution.
Saddam had finally acknowledged the other defendants for the first time, smiling and making jokes about the changes in their appearance since the last time he had seen them, when they were still serving his regime.
Then the two guards took him by the arms again to lead him out.
He let them do it for a few steps, but then he saw the journalists behind the bullet-proof glass at the back of the court.
Immediately he tried to pull away from his guards, telling them not to touch him and to leave him alone.
After a while they did, and he shambled slowly out of the courtroom.
The Economist (After the Saddam verdict, November 6, 2006) used the word "shambles" to describe the lack of procedural justice in a trial sponsored by a United States that had nabbed Saddam in a war launched on flimsy pretexts:
GUILTY of mass murder: that Saddam Hussein certainly is. But what of the legal process that proclaimed him such, and sentenced him to death, on Sunday November 5th? There are reasons to see the trial as a leap forward for Iraq. There are also reasons to proclaim it a shambles even by the rough standards of what is known as "transitional justice".
国际英语资讯:News Analysis: Is it late for Bloomberg to begin White House run?
国际英语资讯:Death toll rises to 12 in Londons towering inferno
优步Uber问题不断,董事会打算赶走CEO
中山男子腹痛紧急送医抢救,检出“牛奶血”!
我的弟弟 My Brother
国际英语资讯:Indias former PM leads first Sikh delegation into Pakistan through Kartarpur corridor
国内英语资讯:China is model developer: senior UNDP official
国内英语资讯:Political advisors discuss improving peoples health
vivo成为未来两届世界杯官方赞助商
国内英语资讯:High-level think-tank dialogue focuses on China-U.S. economic, trade ties
Straight shooting advice?
这些善意的谎言是可以告诉另一半的
习近平会见国际足联主席 谈足球运动的真谛
华为在英国干得不错,都被告侵权了
这家店总是上错菜,却火到不行?被种草啦!
吃米饭会发胖?那怎样防止呢?
国内英语资讯:Xinhua editor-in-chief meets UNESCO Director-General
国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Turkey faces risks in support of crisis-hit Qatar
国际英语资讯:Pakistani PM inaugurates corridor to facilitate Indian Sikhs
国内英语资讯:Xi meets with FIFA president Infantino
麦当劳CEO和员工谈恋爱,结果被解雇了
如果朋友圈只剩你一个人单身
体坛英语资讯:Cristiano Ronaldo accused of 14.7 million euro tax fraud
国际英语资讯:Search for missing continues as death toll reaches 146 in Bangladesh landslides
英国:夫妻吵架怪对方父母?
国际英语资讯:Cambodia celebrates 66th anniversary of independence from French rule
瑞士山村禁止游客拍照 理由竟是风景太美(组图)[1]
盖尔•加朵将再次出演神奇女侠
国际英语资讯:6 shot, 4 dead in shootings at UPS facility in San Francisco
中央美术学院购3500个西瓜送毕业生
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |