這些日常用語原來都出自莎士比亞

莎士比亞寫過很多偉大的戲劇，但是他也創(chuàng)造并普及了很多新詞和短語，有一些我們到現(xiàn)在仍然經(jīng)常使用。一起來看看這些短語的出處吧。

 

 

"The green eyed-monster"

綠眼睛的怪物

"Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy!

It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock

The meat it feeds on."

“哦，我的主人，請當(dāng)心嫉妒!

它是綠眼睛的怪物只會愚弄

自己的盤中肉”

 

 

莎士比亞用法：

Iago says this phrase as he plants doubts in Othello's mind about his wife's faithfulness. Merriam-Webster writes that he may have been evoking cats, given that they are "green-eyed creatures who toy with their prey before killing it."

伊阿古讓奧賽羅對妻子的忠心起了疑心后，說了這個短語。韋氏大詞典中寫道，伊阿古這么說可能會讓人想到貓，因為嫉妒是“綠眼睛的怪物，先玩弄然后再殺死獵物”。

現(xiàn)代用法：

Now "the green eyed-monster" is an idiomatic expression for the noun "jealousy."

現(xiàn)在“綠眼睛的怪物”是“嫉妒”的習(xí)慣表達(dá)。

Source: "Othello," Act 3, Scene 3

出處：《奧賽羅》第三幕，第三場

"Break the ice"

打破堅冰

"... And if you break the ice and do this feat,

Achieve the elder, set the younger free

For our access, whose hap shall be to have her

Will not so graceless be to be ingrate."

“您要是破了堅冰，

娶了他的大女兒，解放了小女兒，

給我們開辟出一條路來，無論這幸運落在哪一個人身上，

對您老兄總不會不知感激的。” (朱生豪譯)

 

 

莎士比亞用法：

Tranio suggests if Petruchio can "break the ice," then he will be able to woo Katherina. By using the "ice" language, Shakespeare makes Katherina seem as cold as ice. Moreover, the fact that the ice needs to be broken suggests that she is hard to reach.

特蘭尼奧想讓批特魯喬替他“破了堅冰”，然后他就能夠向凱薩琳娜求愛。通過這個詞組，莎士比亞暗示凱薩琳娜像堅冰一樣寒冷，而堅冰之所以需要被破，也說明凱薩琳娜的不近人情。

But the first actual usage of "break the ice" probably comes from Sir Thomas North's 1579 translation of "Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans" — although in this case the phrase meant "to forge a path for others to follow," alluding to the breaking of ice to allow the navigation of boats.

不過，“破除堅冰”第一次出現(xiàn)，是在托馬斯•諾斯爵士1579 年翻譯的普魯塔克《希臘羅馬名人傳》，不過在這里，這個詞組意味著“為其他人開辟一條道路”，意指通過破冰來讓船通過。

現(xiàn)代用法：

"Break the ice" still means to get to know someone.

意思仍然是“開始認(rèn)識某人”。

Source: "The Taming of the Shrew," Act 1, Scene 2

出處：《馴悍記》，第一幕，第二場。

"Wear my heart upon my sleeve"

直抒胸臆

"For when my outward action doth demonstrate

The native act and figure of my heart

In compliment extern, 'tis not long after

But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve

For daws to peck at: I am not what I am."

“要是我的表面的行動，

果然出于內(nèi)心的自然流露，

那么不久我就要掬出我的心來，

讓烏鴉們亂啄了。世人所知道的我，并不是實在的我。” (朱生豪譯)

 

 

莎士比亞用法：

Devious Iago basically says that if his outward appearance reflected what he was thinking, then his heart would be on his sleeve for birds to peck at — which is not a good idea in his eyes. And so he adds that he is actually not what he appears to be.

邪惡的伊阿古要說的是，通過他的外表反映了他的思想，那他的心就要讓烏鴉們亂啄了。在他看來，這不是一個好主意。所以他又說“世人所知道的我，并不是實在的我。”

Notably, Iago's motives for his antagonistic behavior are never fully revealed — so it is interesting that he is the character who has immortalized this phrase.

伊阿古這一行為背后的動機(jī)從來沒有被揭曉，有趣的是，也是他讓這個短語流傳千古。

現(xiàn)代用法：

To show one's feelings openly.

公開表達(dá)某人的感受。

Source: "Othello," Act 1, Scene 1

出處：《奧賽羅》，第一幕，第一場。

"All of a sudden"

突然之間

"I pray, sir, tell me, is it possible That love should of a sodaine take such hold?"

“少爺，請您告訴我，難道愛情會這么快就把一個人征服了嗎?” (朱生豪譯)

 

 

莎士比亞用法：

How Shakespeare uses it: Apparently, Shakespeare might have thought that "all of a sudden" was a more poetic way of saying "suddenly" so he had the character Tranio in "The Taming of the Shrew" say it that way.

顯然，莎士比亞認(rèn)為all of a sudden比用suddenly一詞更詩意。所以，他讓特蘭尼奧在《馴悍記》中這么說。

Although, Shakespeare wasn't the first to use "sudden" — John Greenwood used it in 1590.

不過，莎士比亞不是第一個用sudden這個詞的，約翰•格林伍德在1590年第一次使用這個詞。

現(xiàn)代用法：

The meaning is the same, although we now spell it "sudden" rather than "sodaine." The word is spelled in the modern way in newer printings of "The Taming of the Shrew."

這個詞在現(xiàn)代的意義沒有變化，只不過現(xiàn)在我們將其拼成sudden，而不是sodaine。在現(xiàn)代新版本的《馴悍記》中，這個詞都被改成了現(xiàn)代的拼寫方法。

Source: "The Taming of the Shrew," Act 1, Scene 1

出處：《馴悍記》，第一幕，第一場。

"A heart of gold"

金子般的心

"The king's a bawcock, and a heart of gold,

A lad of life, an imp of fame;

Of parents good, of fist most valiant. ..."

“國王是個好樣的，有金子一般的心，

是位活潑的小伙子，一位高貴祖先的后人，

父母都沒錯，他的拳頭也厲害。” (劉炳善譯)

 

 

莎士比亞用法：

King Henry disguises himself as a commoner in the play and asks Pistol, who is unaware of the disguise, whether he considers himself to be better than the king. Pistol responds with the above quote.

亨利國王將他自己偽裝成平民，問畢斯托爾是不是自以為比國王更優(yōu)秀。畢斯托爾沒有認(rèn)出亨利國王，以引文作答。

現(xiàn)代用法：

To be extremely kind and helpful.

十分友善，樂于助人。

Source: "Henry V," Act 4, Scene 1

出處：《亨利五世》，第四幕，第一場。

"In my heart of heart"

在我內(nèi)心深處

"Give me that man

That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him

In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,

As I do thee."

“給我一個不為感情所奴役的人，我愿意把他珍藏

在我的心坎、我的靈魂的身處，

正像我對你一樣。” (朱生豪譯)

 

 

莎士比亞用法：

While speaking with Horatio, Hamlet says this phrase noting that if there's a man who is "not passion's slave" — aka, a master of his emotions — then he'll put him close to his heart. Using the language "heart's core" right before suggests that Hamlet means some very deep, central part of his heart/emotions.

哈姆雷特跟霍拉旭說話時用了這個短語，強(qiáng)調(diào)如果有一個“不受感情奴役”的人，即能夠控制自己情感的人，那么他將把那個人藏在內(nèi)心深處。上文中曾提到“心之正中”(heart's core)一詞可以看出，哈姆雷特指的是他內(nèi)心和情感最深處、最核心的部分。

現(xiàn)代用法：

Nowadays, we pluralize the second "heart" to say "in my heart of hearts." The phrase refers to one's inner-most, secret thoughts.

如今，我們常把第二個heart改為復(fù)數(shù)，使用in my heart of hearts這個短語，用來表達(dá)人內(nèi)心最深、最隱秘的想法。

Source: "Hamlet," Act 3, Scene 2

出處：《哈姆雷特》，第三幕，第二場。

"Too much of a good thing"

好事過頭反成壞事

"Why then, can one desire too much of a good thing?

Come, sister, you shall be the priest and marry us.

Give me your hand, Orlando. What do you say, sister?"

“那么，好的東西會嫌太多嗎?

來，妹妹，你來做牧師，給我們主婚。

把你的手給我，奧蘭多。你說怎么樣，妹妹?” (朱生豪譯)

 

 

莎士比亞用法：

This phrase may have been a proverb dating to the late 15th century, but Shakespeare was the one who has it immortalized in print.

該短語可能是一句可以追溯到15世紀(jì)末的諺語，不過莎士比亞使其變成印刷文字流傳下來。

Rosalind is pretending to be a man named Ganymede while she is with Orlando, with whom she is in love. He's also in love with Rosalind — and doesn't know she is Ganymede — and practices how he would woo Rosalind with Ganymede. At one point, Rosalind/Ganymede suggests that they have a pretend wedding, and asks if one can ever have too much of a good thing.

和奧蘭多在一起時，羅瑟琳假扮成一個名叫蓋尼米德的男人但她已經(jīng)愛上了奧蘭多。奧蘭多也愛上了羅瑟琳，但他不知道蓋尼米德就是她。他跟蓋尼米德一起練習(xí)如何追求羅瑟琳。有一次，羅瑟琳(蓋尼米德)建議他們舉行一場假婚禮，然后問道，是否有人會嫌好東西太多。

現(xiàn)代用法：

Too much good might backfire and be bad.

好事太多反而適得其反，成了壞事。

Source: "As You Like It," Act 4, Scene 1

出處：《皆大歡喜》，第四幕，第一場。

"All that glitters is not gold"

閃光的不全是黃金

"All that glitters is not gold;

Often have you heard that told:

Many a man his life hath sold

But my outside to behold:

Gilded tombs do worms enfold."

“閃光的不全是黃金，

這話常聽人說的分明;

多少世人出賣了一生，

不過看到了我的外形，

蛆蟲占據(jù)著鍍金的墳。” (朱生豪譯)

 

 

莎士比亞用法：

Shakespeare seems to be the first person to have written this phrase, although the idea was not new.

莎士比亞似乎是第一個創(chuàng)作這個短語的人，不過這個想法卻不是他原創(chuàng)的。

The Prince of Morocco, one of Portia's suitors in "The Merchant of Venice," much choose out the correct casket to get his bride: one gold, one silver, and one lead. The gold one has an inscription on it which reads "All that glitters is not gold ... gilded tombs do worms enfold." But he picks it anyway ...

在《威尼斯商人》中，鮑西亞的一個追求者——摩洛哥親王，要從一個金匣子，一個銀匣子和一個鉛匣子中選擇，其中一個匣子里藏著鮑西亞的小像。金匣子里藏著的紙卷寫著引文這段話，但他仍然選了金匣子。

現(xiàn)代用法：

Basically, just because it's shiny and nice on the outside, doesn't mean that that's true of the inside.

一般來說，這個短語的意思是，盡管外表閃耀美麗，但我們不知道其內(nèi)在是不是真實的。

Source: "The Merchant of Venice," Act 2, Scene 7

出處：《威尼斯商人》，第二幕，第七場。

"Good riddance"

去了干凈

Thersites: "I will see you hanged, like clotpoles, ere I come any more to your tents: I will keep where there is wit stirring and leave the faction of fools."

Patroclus: "A good riddance."

“忒耳西忒斯：我要瞧你們像一串豬狗似的吊起來，然后才會再踏進(jìn)你們的營帳里;我要去找一處有聰明人的地方住下，再不跟傻瓜們混在一起了。

帕特洛克羅斯：他去了倒也干凈。” (朱生豪譯)

莎士比亞用法：

Although it's not the first usage of "riddance," Shakespeare appears to be the first person to use the phrase "good riddance".

這不是riddance第一次出現(xiàn)，但莎士比亞似乎是第一個使用good riddance的人。

He also had Portia wish the Prince of Morocco "a gentle riddance" in "The Merchant of Venice".

此外，在《威尼斯商人》中，鮑西亞對摩洛哥親王說了“溫柔的離開”一詞。

現(xiàn)代用法：

People say this expression when they are happy to have gotten rid of someone or something useless or bad.

當(dāng)人們成功擺脫無用或糟糕的人或事時，他們會用到這個詞。

Source: "Troilus and Cressida," Act 2, Scene 1

出處：《特洛伊羅斯與克瑞西達(dá)》，第二幕，第一場。

"Love is blind"

戀愛是盲目的

"...But love is blind and lovers cannot see

The pretty follies that themselves commit;..."

“可是戀愛是盲目的，

戀人們瞧不見他們自己所干的傻事。” (朱生豪譯)

莎士比亞用法：

Technically, Chaucer first wrote the phrase "For loue is blynd alday and may nat see." But Shakespeare was the one who popularized it.

嚴(yán)格說來，這個短語是喬叟首次使用的：“因為戀人整天是盲目的，他們也許看不見其他事情。”但莎士比亞讓這句話變得家喻戶曉。

In the scene, Jessica has disguised herself as a boy to see her lover, Lorenzo, but feels quite "ashamed" of her get-up. Still, she comments that love is blind and people are unable to see the shortcomings of their lovers.

在這一場戲中，杰西卡假扮成一個男孩，去見他的情人洛倫佐，但卻對自己的裝扮感到十分“羞愧”。不過，她評價道愛情是盲目的，人們無法看到自己情人的缺點。

現(xiàn)代用法：

The meaning of the phrase is more or less unchanged.

意義基本沒有改變。

Source: "The Merchant of Venice," Act 2, Scene 6

出處：《威尼斯商人》，第二幕，第六場。