介绍:
Xiaohua: Hello and welcome to this week’s Word of the Week. Last week we talked about horse-related idioms and phrases in English. And this week let’s continue with dogs.
John: Dogs! Obviously it is very very different. We will just go right through them as quick as possible and try to explain as many as possible. So first is “as sick as a dog.” This one is actually quite clear. It just means very sick.
Xiaohua:病得很厉害，病得像只狗一样。
John: Then there is “his bark is worse than his bite,” basically referring to a dog. A dog is barking really really loud at you. But it’s barking at you because actually it’s scared and it’s not going to bite you. The idea being is that someone is being loud, someone is being aggressive, but they are not actually going to do anything.
Xiaohua:狗总是叫得很凶，但实际上并不见得会冲上来咬你。 “One’s bark is worse than one’s bite”有一点点像刀子嘴豆腐心，就是嘴上说的虽然凶，但其实并不会怎样伤害你。
John: And there is the “bark up the wrong tree.” Basically it is to choose the wrong course of action, or to ask the wrong person and continue in that action until someone tells you to stop.
Xiaohua: 选错了对象，选错了事情的方向，都可以说是“bark up the wrong tree.” So can you give us an example？
John: Yeah. “My boss is barking up the wrong tree. The computer problem isn’t my fault.”
Xiaohua: OK. So in this case, 老板是怪错了人。
John: Yeah exactly. And then there is a “better to be a live dog than a dead lion.” So basically it is better to be a crowd and be alive than it is to be a hero and dead.
Xiaohua: 听上去有点像是“好死不如赖活着。”
John: And there is a “dog-eat-dog.” So basically we usually use it a lot with “it is a dog-eat-dog world”, which means that everyone is very aggressive and very competitive. If you are not the most aggressive, then you are going to lose.
Xiaohua:“A dog-eat-dog world” 就是说这是一个无情竞争的世界。
John: And then “every dog has his day,” everyone will have his chance or turn eventually getting what they deserves. That could be a bad thing, and could be a good thing.
Xiaohua: 我之前一直以为“every dog has his day” 是指再倒霉的人也会有交好运的一天。但是John说“every dog has his day”也可以指再幸运的人也都有倒霉的一天。
John: And there is a “fight like cats and dogs.” This one is very very descriptive. You just imagine a dog and a cat and when they are fighting, what it looks like. That’s basically what it means. So when you are fighting with your wife or your husband like a cat and a dog, it means it is very very loud and very very strong.
Xiaohua: “Fight like cats and dogs”就是打得很厉害吵得很厉害的意思。And if you don’t know it, just watch Tom and Jerry.
John: There you go. And there is “the hair of the dog that bit you.” The idea being is that you had a long night last night you were out with your friends, drinking too much probably, you wake up in the morning and you are hung-over, you’ve got a headache, you are very tired, feel very bad, and so then you have the hair of the dog that bit you, and you have a drink of beer, you have a drink of alcohol, and that suppose to make you feel better. I don’t know if it is true, but that’s what they say.
Xiaohua:I see. 在西方有这么一个习惯就是比如说宿醉的人在第二天早上醒来之后可以再喝一小杯酒，这样可以解酒。所以那杯用来解酒的酒就叫做the hair of the dog.
John: The history of this phrase is really really interesting and that actually comes from a rabies cure. The idea being is like you have to drink like a potion or a concoction after a dog bit you. You have to find the hair of the dog or of a different dog and mix it up with some other stuff and that would help to cure rabies. Obviously that doesn’t work but somehow that got evolved into a hangover cure.
Xiaohua:在很久以前人们应对狂犬病的办法就是找到一只狗身上的毛，然后用来制作一种制剂，喝下去以后就可以治狂犬病。“The hair of the dog”的意思就是从这里来的。
John: There is a “let sleeping dogs lie,” basically (it means) if you don’t have to make trouble, then don’t.
Xiaohua:不要叫醒沉睡的狗，这个词的意思就是说没有必要惹麻烦的时候就不要去惹麻烦了。
John: And “rain cats and dogs” I think a lot of people have already heard of this one. Basically it means the pour-down rain, really really hard.
Xiaohua: That’s right. 下很大的雨可以叫做“rain cats and dogs.”
John: Then to “put your tails between your legs,” so to feel beaten or humiliated. Because you know usually a dog, when they are showing subservience they are showing they’ve been beaten in a fight, or that they are scared, they will run away with their tails between their legs.
Xiaohua:这个中文也有差不多对应的说法，“夹着尾巴”就是说非常沮丧，一蹶不振的感觉。
John: And last but not least, “you can't teach an old dog new tricks.” It’s hard for old people or people set in their ways to learn new things.
Xiaohua:这一般是指一些老顽固，不肯接受和学习新事物的人，我们就说“老狗学不会新的戏法了。”And that’s all we have of Round Table’s Word of the Week.
