中英之鑒 中式英語(yǔ)之鑒392

[誤] Mason\'s resignation well fit his boss\' mind, because he could not only get rid of Mason, a nail in the eye, but also save a large sum of compensation.

[正] Mason\'s resignation well played into his boss\' hands, because he could not only get rid of Mason, a thorn in his flesh, but also save a large sum of compensation.

注：play into one\'s hands 源于撲克牌游戲，意指打出的牌正是對(duì)方想要的，而且多含“中了對(duì)方的圈套”之意，因而用在這里十分貼切。“眼中釘”在英語(yǔ)中也有對(duì)應(yīng)的表達(dá)，即 a thorn in one\'s flesh。