今日英语俚语:Sick Burn

语言学家对俚语没有简单明确的定义,但他们一致认为,俚语是一种不断变化的语言现象,存在于世界各地的亚文化中。俚语是一种非正式的词汇(单词、短语和语言用法),常见于口头交谈,但在正式写作中避免使用。因为俚语并不总是从字面意义上讲得通,所以您需要熟悉每个俚语的意思和用法。英语俚语是日常英语的重要组成部分。

儒琴今日英语俚语 (English Slang of the Day)

俚语:sick burn

单词 burn 最根本的意思是”着火;烧着;燃烧”, 后来逐步抽象化,引申为(脸)发烧,发烫(由于尴尬/羞愧/愤怒等等)。 随着语言,尤其口语的不断演变,单词 burn 有了俚语的含义,往往表示”带幽默的嘲讽用语(或行为)“。

sick 一词最常见的含义是“生病”。但是,sick 一词也有俚语色彩,意思是“非常好,完美”。

俚语 Sick Burn 这一词组搭配中, 很显然,sick 是用来强调 burn 的。 Sick Burn 往往指某人前面说的话或做的事“含有讽刺挖苦,意在使某人难堪或羞辱某人”。

俚语 Sick Burn 根据具体语境,或上下文,可以翻译成(仅供参考):幽默的嘲讽;高级黑;骂人不带脏字;糗大了;太羞辱人了等等。

原文举例

Biden had a sick burn in his State of the Union speech.

At a particularly contentious moment in his State of the Union address, President Biden ad-libbed a line that left a lot of people scratching their heads.

He was taunting Republicans who want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes the politically popular measure to cap drug prices for seniors.

“As my football coach used to say, ‘Lots of luck in your senior year,'” Biden said with a chuckle and a wry smile.

But what does that even mean?
Biden has been saying this for at least 25 years. It turns out this phrase has long been part of Biden’s folksy informal lexicon.

Even linguists were puzzled by the phrase

Now, if you’ve never heard this phrase before, you’re not alone. Anatoly Liberman is a linguist at the University of Minnesota and author of the book: “Take My Word For It: A Dictionary of English Idioms.” This one isn’t in his book.

“It is not listed even in the most detailed database of formulas, wishes and sayings,” Liberman told NPR.

But, that isn’t necessarily surprising, he said. There are a lot of idioms like this, only known in one region, one family or perhaps one coach’s sphere of influence. (NPR NEWS February 9, 2023)

拜登在他的国情咨文演讲中讲了一句骂人不带脏字话。

在他的国情咨文演说中,有一个特别有争议的时刻,拜登总统即兴说了一句让很多人摸不着头脑的话。

他是在嘲讽那些想要废除《通货膨胀减少法案》的共和党人,该法案包括了在政治上很受欢迎的限制老年人药品价格的措施。

拜登苦笑着说:“就像我的足球教练过去常说的,’Lots of luck in your senior year ‘(祝你在高年级走运)。”

但这句话到底是什么意思呢?

这句话拜登至少说了25年了。事实证明,这句话一直是拜登非正式词汇的一部分。

就连语言学家也对这个短语(Lots of luck in your senior year)感到困惑。

如果你以前从未听过这个短语,那么这并不见怪。阿纳托利·利伯曼(Anatoly Liberman)是明尼苏达大学的语言学家,也是《相信我的话:英语习语词典》一书的作者。他的书里也没有这个短语。

利伯曼在接受美国国家公共电台采访时表示:“即使在最详细谚语数据库中,也没有列出这个短语。”

但他说,这并不一定令人惊讶。有很多这样的习语,只在一个地区、一个家庭或一个教练的影响范围内知道。(NPR 新闻/美国东部时间2023-2-9)

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