儒琴英语词汇选自欧美报刊文章以及英语原文小说。坚持学习英语今日词汇，有助于阅读和理解当今欧美主流媒体的新闻时事报道和英语文学作品。
儒琴英语词汇（English Words and Phrases of the Day）
scattershot
broadly and often randomly inclusive
毫无针对性; 漫无目的的
A coordinated White House strategy could also be more effective than the scattershot approach of Republican members of Congress, some of whom did their best to confuse the public during the Intelligence Committee hearings by raising debunked conspiracy theories and pushing the unfounded allegation that Ukraine had interfered in US elections, rather than Russia.
— CNN November 30, 2019
curmudgeonly
adjective /kəˈmʌdʒ.ən.li/
If you describe someone as curmudgeonly, you do not like them because they are mean or bad-tempered.
乖戾; 刻薄，脾气暴躁。
On Aug. 7, 1974, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona led a small delegation of GOP congressional leaders to the Oval Office to tell President Richard M. Nixon that he no longer had enough support to survive an impeachment trial in the Senate. Multiple books have replayed the storied moment: the curmudgeonly Goldwater sitting opposite the president’s desk; House Republican leader John Rhodes sitting to one side; Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott to the other. It became received wisdom that the trio’s visitation altered history. After all, Nixon announced his resignation the next day.
— The Washington Post Nov. 30, 2019
fishing expedition
an investigation that does not stick to a stated objective but hopes to uncover incriminating or newsworthy evidence
搜罗挖掘不利于某人的证据为目的的调查行动
Federal judges, including Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., might want to keep the courts out of the political process and let the voters decide Trump’s fate on Election Day next November. Also, a conservative Supreme Court may be sympathetic to the idea that a president can resist a political fishing expedition from a congressional committee.
— The Washington Post Nov. 30, 2019
wiggle room
leeway; scope for freedom of action or thought ; an allowable margin of freedom or variation
余地; 允许行动或思想自由的范围
When the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to turn over the famous “smoking gun” tape, proving his role in the Watergate coverup, the president asked his chief of staff, Alexander M. Haig Jr., “Is there any wiggle room?” When the answer was no, Nixon submitted to the rule of law.
— The Washington Post Nov. 30, 2019
wall-to-wall
adjective
occurring or found everywhere : ubiquitous; happening very often or everywhere around you 无时不在的; 到处存在
In Washington, the pundit class measured the wall-to-wall impeachment coverage by whether it advanced the case against the president. But in these swing districts, each day’s hearings again proved Republicans’ point that Democrats are focused on the wrong thing — obsessed with removing the president instead of making progress for working families.
stick your neck out
to say or do something which other people are afraid to say or do, even though this may cause trouble or difficulty for you
冒险； 敢于冒风险, 不怕得罪人
After sticking their necks out to authorize hearings that failed to move the needle in favor of removal, will those 31 vulnerable Democrats in Trump districts really vote to remove him from office? They may have to choose between delivering a historic defeat to their party in the House on impeachment, or suffering defeat at the polls next November.
unlearn
verb
1. To put (something learned) out of the mind; forget.
(故意）忘掉（学到的东西）
2. discard something previously learnt, like an old habit
摒弃（学到的东西）
We agreed that longevity demands rethinking of all stages of life, not just old age. To thrive in an age of rapid knowledge transfer, children not only need reading, math and computer literacy, but they also need to learn to think creatively and not hold on to “facts” too tightly. They’ll need to find joy in unlearning and relearning.
— The Washington Post Nov. 30, 2019
with tail between one’s legs
Displaying embarrassment or shame, especially after losing or having to admit that one was wrong. Likened to a dog literally putting its tail between its legs after being disciplined.(Freedictionary)
表现出困窘或羞耻
Republican lawmakers avert their gaze from presidential excesses, cowering with tails between their legs in fear of Trump’s wrath — and tweets.
— The Washington Post Nov. 30, 2019
do someone’s bidding
to submit to someone’s orders; perform services for someone （dictionary.com）
服从某人的命令；为某人服务
Trump is rightly confident that articles of impeachment approved by the House will fail in the Republican Senate because his manipulative majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and South Carolina’s homegrown chameleon (or is it snake?), Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham, will do his bidding
— The Washington Post Nov. 30, 2019
