VOA慢速英語:詞匯掌故：胡說八道和花言巧語
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Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
這里是美國之音慢速英語詞匯典故。
Baloney is a kind of sausage that many Americans eat often. The word also has another meaning in English. It is used to describe something – usually something someone says – that is false or wrong or foolish.
baloney是美國人常吃的一種香腸。這個詞在英語里還有另外一個意思，經(jīng)常用來形容某人說的某些事是假的，錯的或者是荒謬的。
Baloney sausage comes from the name of the Italian city, Bologna. The city is famous for its sausage, a mixture of smoked, spiced meat from cows and pigs. But, boloney sausage does not taste the same as beef or pork alone.
baloney香腸這個名稱來源于一個意大利城市博洛尼亞(Bologna)，該城市以香腸著稱，這種香腸用煙熏并調(diào)味過的牛肉和豬肉混合而成。但是，boloney香腸吃起來和牛肉或豬肉原本的味道不太一樣。
Some language experts think this different taste is responsible for the birth of the expression baloney. Baloney is an idea or statement that is nothing like the truth...in the same way that baloney sausage tastes nothing like the meat that is used to make it.
一些語言學(xué)家認為，這種味道的差異就是baloney這個說法的出處。baloney是一種并非事實的想法或說法，就像baloney香腸吃起來的味道和通常用到的原材料的味道完全不同。
Baloney is a word often used by politicians to describe the ideas of their opponents.
baloney常被政客用來形容其對手的觀點。
The expression has been used for years. Fifty years ago, a former governor of New York state, Alfred Smith, criticized some claims by President Franklin Roosevelt about the successes of the Roosevelt administration. Smith said, "No matter how thin you slice it, it is still baloney."
這個詞已經(jīng)用了多年。50年前，紐約州前州長阿爾弗雷德·史密斯(Alfred Smith)曾批判羅斯?？偨y(tǒng)(Franklin Roosevelt)關(guān)于其政府執(zhí)政成功的說法，史密斯說道：“No matter how thin you slice it, it is still baloney”(不管你切得多薄，香腸就是香腸。引申含義：不管你如何狡辯，都是胡扯。)
A similar word has almost the same meaning as baloney. It even sounds almost the same. The word is blarney. It began in Ireland about sixteen hundred.
還有一個和baloney意思非常相似的詞，甚至發(fā)音也幾乎一樣，這個詞是blarney(花言巧語，奉承話)，起源于1600年的愛爾蘭。
The lord of Blarney castle, near Cork, agreed to surrender the castle to British troops. But he kept making excuses for postponing the surrender. And, he made them sound like very good excuses, "this is just more of the same blarney."
靠近愛爾蘭科克(Cork)的Blarney城堡的主人同意把城堡移交給英國軍隊，但是他一直找借口推遲移交時間，而且這些借口聽起來理由都非常充分，“只是更多的花言巧語”
The Irish castle now is famous for its Blarney stone. Kissing the stone is thought to give a person special powers of speech. One who has kissed the Blarney stone, so the story goes, can speak words of praise so smoothly and sweetly that you believe them, even when you know they are false.
這個愛爾蘭城堡現(xiàn)在以Blarney石頭著稱。人們認為，親吻這塊石頭就會獲得非比尋常的語言能力。故事的發(fā)展就是，親吻過這塊石頭的人，能說出非常動聽的奉承話，哪怕你明知是假的也還是會相信。
A former Roman Catholic bishop of New York City, Fulton Sheen, once explained, "Baloney is praise so thick it cannot be true. And blarney is praise so thin we like it."
紐約羅馬教堂的前主教Fulton Sheen曾經(jīng)解釋說，“baloney(胡扯、瞎說)如此夸張，它不可能是真實的;而blarney(奉承話)如此單薄(意思是極易被看破)，我們卻都喜歡。”
Another expression is pulling the wool over someone’s eyes. It means to make someone believe something that is not true. The expression goes back to the days when men wore false hair, or wigs, similar to those worn by judges today in British courts.
另一個短語是pulling the wool over someone’s eyes，意思是讓某人相信一些不真實的東西(意為欺騙，蒙蔽某人)。這個短語的歷史要追溯到男人戴假發(fā)的時代了，就像現(xiàn)在英國法庭上法官們的裝扮。
The word wool was a popular joking word for hair. If you pulled a man’s wig over his eyes, he could not see what was happening. Today, when you pull the wool over someone’s eyes, he cannot see the truth.
wool這個詞是頭發(fā)的戲謔語。如果你把一個人的頭發(fā)拉到遮住眼睛，他就什么都看不到了。當你蒙蔽了一個人(pull the wool over someone’s eyes)，他就看不清真相。
Baloney or Blarney?
Now, the VOA Special English program, Words andTheir Stories.
Baloney is a kind of sausage that many Americans eatoften. The word also has another meaning in English. It is used to describe something – usually somethingsomeone says – that is false or wrong or foolish.
Baloney sausage comes from the name of the Italiancity, Bologna. The city is famous for its sausage, amixture of smoked, spiced meat from cows and pigs. But baloney sausage does not taste the same as beefor pork alone.
Some language experts think this different taste isresponsible for the birth of the expression “baloney.” Baloney is an idea or statement that is nothing like the truth…in the same way that baloney sausage tastesnothing like the meat that is used to make it.
Baloney is a word often used by politicians to describethe ideas of their opponents.
The expression has been used for years. A formergovernor of New York state, Alfred Smith, criticizedsome claims by President Franklin Roosevelt about thesuccesses of the Roosevelt administration. Smithsaid, “No matter how thin you slice it, it is still baloney.”
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Romano Prodi slices a large Italian sausage while running for office in Bologna, Italy in 2006. |
A similar word has almost the same meaning asbaloney. It even sounds almost the same. The word is “blarney.” It began in Ireland about 1600.
The lord of Blarney Castle, near Cork, agreed to surrender the castle to Britishtroops. But he kept making excuses for postponing the surrender. And hemade them sound like very good excuses. “This is just more of the sameblarney.”
The Irish castle now is famous for its Blarney stone. Kissing the stone isthought to give a person special powers of speech. One who has kissed theBlarney stone, so the story goes, can speak words of praise so smoothly andsweetly that you believe them, even when you know they are false.
A former Roman Catholic bishop of New York City, Fulton Sheen, onceexplained, “Baloney is praise so thick it cannot be true. And blarney is praiseso thin we like it.”
Another expression is “pulling the wool over someone’s eyes.” It means tomake someone believe something that is not true. The expression goes backto the days when men wore false hair, or wigs, similar to those worn byjudges in British courts.
The word “wool” was a popular joking word for hair. If you pulled a man’s wigover his eyes, he could not see what was happening. Today, when you “pullthe wool over someone’s eyes,” he cannot see the truth.
This VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories was written byMarilyn Christiano. I’m Warren Scheer.
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