本文是“美剧口语笔记”专栏的首期内容,旨在通过解析美剧中的真实、常用口语表达,帮助学习者更好地理解和运用英语。文章以《绝望的主妇》为例,重点拆解了get wind of(听到风声)、go the distance(坚持到底)和pull the wool over someone's eyes(蒙蔽、欺骗)这三个地道短语,并提供了丰富的例句和近义表达,让英语学习更贴近生活,表达更自然精准。
✨ get wind of something:意为“听到消息、嗅到风声”,常用于描述八卦、绯闻或内幕的快速传播。它源自猎犬闻到气味,引申为对某事的察觉,例如“老板听到了风声”。同义表达包括hear about this, catch wind of this, get word of this, get a tip-off, rumor has it等。
✨ go the distance:源自拳击术语,意为“坚持到底、撑到最后、完成整个过程”,强调在困难面前不放弃。例如,鼓励朋友在考研或创业中坚持。正式表达有persevere, persist,口语表达有stick it out, hang in there。
✨ pull the wool over someone's eyes:字面意思是“把羊毛拉到眼睛上”,引申为“蒙蔽、欺骗、糊弄”某人。常用于形容用虚假信息或表面现象欺骗他人,例如创业者用华丽PPT忽悠投资人,或主播卖假货。正式表达有mislead, deceive, cover up。
“Everyone has secrets. And sometimes, those secrets get out, no matter how hard we try to hide them.” —— Mary Alice, 《Desperate Housewives》
每个人都有秘密,就像每句英美剧台词,也藏着地道又生动的英语表达,等你去发现。从今天起,公众号增设一个专栏:美剧口语笔记。这里不做流水账式的剧情复述,也不堆砌复杂生僻词,而是专注于美剧中最常用、最真实自然的口语表达。帮你在刷剧、听播客时真正听懂,在日常说英语时能自然说出来。今天,我们从 《绝望的主妇》 开始,拆解:✨ get wind of ✨ go the distance ✨ pull the wool over someone’s eyes这些地道又实用的美剧短语,让你在学英语口语时,也能像剧中人物一样,表达得自然、精准又优雅。
01 get wind of this
台词:Oh, Jeez. Didn't take the media long to get wind of this.
get wind of something这个短语可以从字面角度去理解,wind是“风”,get wind of最初表示猎犬闻到猎物的气味,引申为“听到消息、嗅到风声”。这个短语可以用来表示八卦、绯闻、内幕传开,或某事很快流传出去。比如,和同事微信吐槽领导,结果被截图流传到领导耳朵里,可以说:
Don’t complain about the boss on WeChat with your coworkers, or the boss might get wind of it.不要和同事微信吐槽领导,小心领导听到风声。
和同事说了想辞职的想法,结果下午老板突然找你谈话:
I was ready to quit, but somehow my boss got wind of it.我正准备辞职,结果老板就听到风声了。
再如,年轻情侣不想不办酒席,偷偷领了证,打算等稳定后再告诉家里,结果领完证下午家里就打来了电话:
They were planning to get married in secret, but their parents got wind of it pretty quickly.他们偷偷准备结婚,但家里父母很快就知道了。
再如,朋友们准备惊喜派对,但因为有人不小心说漏嘴或在朋友圈透露蛛丝马迹,当事人提前知情。可以说:
We were planning a surprise birthday party for Lily, but she somehow got wind of it.我们本来想给莉莉办一个惊喜生日派对,但她不知怎么就知道了。
此外,“听到消息、嗅到风声”,也可以用以下短语表示:hear about thiscatch wind of thisget word of thisget a tip-off (尤指“被人通风报信”)rumor has it (谣传……)例如:
The city inspectors got a tip-off that the restaurant was using expired ingredients.城市管理部门接到举报,说那家餐馆在用过期食材。
Rumor has it that our company will switch to a four-day workweek next year.听说我们公司明年要实行每周四天工作制。
02 go the distance
台词:Well, if anybody should go the distance, he can. I should know.
go the distance源自拳击术语,指选手不被击倒,坚持打完整场比赛(the distance = 全场比赛回合),引申为“无论多艰难都坚持到底”,简单说就是“坚持到底、撑到最后、完成整个过程”,它的同义替换很多,比如偏正式的有persevere, persist,偏口语的有stick it out , hang in there。例如,身边朋友备考考研,经历早起晚睡、不断刷题和背书的痛苦时想放弃,你鼓励对方:
The postgraduate entrance exam is tough, but you need to go the distance if you really want that graduate spot.考研很难,但如果你真想读研,就要坚持到最后。
再如,朋友们一起报名参加马拉松,有人跑一半就退出,真正完成全程的人很少,可以说:
Starting a marathon isn’t hard; what’s hard is going the distance and crossing the finish line.跑马拉松开始不难,难的是跑完全程并冲过终点线。
Many people jump into starting a business, but not many can go the distance and make it profitable.很多人冲动创业,但真正能坚持到盈利的人不多。
03 pull the wool over someone's eyes
台词:and you're still the perky cheerleader who thinks that she can pull the wool over everyone's eyes.
wool 是“羊毛”的意思,过去英国人戴羊毛假发,pull the wool over someone's eyes字面意思是“把假发拉到眼睛上,挡住视线”,引申为“蒙蔽、欺骗、糊弄”。举个例子,创业者去路演融资,用精美的 PPT、看似漂亮的 GMV 数据、花哨的增长曲线展示项目,但投资人应关注真实盈利能力和团队能力,不能被表面数据忽悠。可以说:
He tried to pull the wool over the investors’ eyes with a flashy PowerPoint, but it didn’t work that easily.他想用漂亮的PPT忽悠投资人,但没那么容易。