Just for laughs
To laugh up one's sleeve
笑是人類表達(dá)喜怒哀樂各種不同感情的一個(gè)不可缺少的形式。笑這個(gè)字,也就是英文里的laugh經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在美國的成語或俗語里。人們經(jīng)常會(huì)做一些事,純屬為了高興。這在英文里就是:Just for laughs。Just for laughs這個(gè)俗語在不同情況下,它的意思也就不同。首先,它可以解釋為:做某件事純屬為了高興,就像我們上面講的那樣。我們來舉個(gè)例子吧。
例句-1: "Come on and get your jacket -- let's go out and have a couple of beers just for laughs."
這個(gè)人說:"來吧,穿上你的外套,我們到外面去喝兩杯啤酒高興高興。"
可是,Just for laughs有時(shí)也可以指做愚蠢的事,或有害的事。下面的情形就是一個(gè)例子:
例句-2: "Just for laughs they tossed Mary in the swimming pool with all her clothes on. Then they found out she didn't know how to swim."
這個(gè)人說:"就是為了開玩笑,他們把瑪麗連衣服帶鞋的整個(gè)扔進(jìn)了游泳池,結(jié)果他們發(fā)現(xiàn),瑪麗根本不會(huì)游泳。"
開這種惡作劇的玩笑實(shí)在是不應(yīng)該。我們?cè)賮砼e一個(gè)高興一點(diǎn)的例子吧:
例句-3: "I really enjoyed that movie last night. It won't win any prizes, but it has two funny guys in it that are worth watching just for laughs."
這個(gè)人說:"我很喜歡昨晚看的那個(gè)電影。這個(gè)電影不見得會(huì)得什么獎(jiǎng),但是那兩個(gè)滑稽的角色值得一看,非常好玩。"
下面要講的一個(gè)和laugh這個(gè)字有關(guān)的習(xí)慣用語不一定會(huì)使當(dāng)事人高興。To laugh up one's sleeve。Sleeve就是衣服袖子。To laugh up one's sleeve從字面上來看是在袖子里笑,實(shí)際上也就是偷偷地笑。To laugh up one's sleeve的真正意思就是偷偷地笑話某人,因?yàn)檫@個(gè)人有些可笑的地方,而他本人還沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)。例如:
例句-4: "We were all laughing up our sleeves at the teacher when he was up at the blackboard explaining the math problem. He had a rip in the back of his pants and didn't know it."
這句話翻成中文就是:"當(dāng)老師在黑板前講解數(shù)學(xué)題的時(shí)候,我們都偷偷地笑,因?yàn)樗澴雍竺嬗袀€(gè)裂縫,他自己還不知道。
其實(shí),這種情況是經(jīng)常發(fā)生的。下面又是一個(gè)例子:
例句-5: "We were all laughing up our sleeves at our brother when he sat down at the dinner table. He'd seen his girl off at the airport and had lipstick on his face and didn't know it."
這個(gè)人說:"當(dāng)我們的哥哥坐下吃晚飯的時(shí)候,我們都在偷偷地笑他,因?yàn)樗麆側(cè)C(jī)場送他的女朋友,臉上留下了口紅,他還不知道。
今天我們講了兩個(gè)和笑,也就是laugh這個(gè)字有關(guān)的習(xí)慣用語。
第一個(gè)是:Just for laughs,這是純屬為了取樂的意思。
第二個(gè)是:To laugh up one's sleeve,這是指暗暗發(fā)笑的意思。
「美國習(xí)慣用語」第二十五講就到里。歡迎下次再一起來學(xué)習(xí)美國習(xí)慣用語。再見。