最近幾天，如果翻翻世界各地的英文報紙，或瀏覽英文新聞網站，頭版標題和報導中最熱門的詞彙莫過於「duck」一詞了。你可千萬不要以為是「鴨子」出了什麼新鮮事了。
我們不妨先來讀幾個新聞標題
Bush legacy Lame…duck!
Not so lame duck as 'dog' Bush evades Iraqi journo's shoes
Lame (Duck) Iraq Visit Guarantees Bush Shoe-In As Worst President Ever
Bush Ducks Flying Shoes in Iraq
Bush ducks shoes on farewell trip to war zones
President Bush ducks shoes thrown by Iraqi journalist
「duck」該如何解釋呢？你還可以藉助下面兩個沒有「duck」的標題想一想:
George Bush Attacked By Shoes
Bush on farewell visit to Iraq dodges flying shoes
原來，報導把布希總統說成是「lame duck」，同時又用「duck(動詞)」描述布希總統躲「飛鞋」的尷尬樣子。
在林林總總的標題中，筆者覺得，讓人感到最「有才」的是下面一條:
Lame Duck Ducks Shoes
跛鴨總統躲(飛)鞋
非常有趣的描述吧？
不過，你一定會問，為什麼要將布希總統稱作「lame duck」呢？
英文lame duck的釋義是:
(1)a person, business etc that is having problems and needs help；
跛足鴨(遇到困難需要幫助的人或企業等)，常帶貶義，指不能有效地做事的人或機構。
(2)president/governor/legislature:(informal)a president, governor etc with no real power because his or her period in office will soon end
美國非正式英語，指任期即將結束的總統、政府等。lame duck常用來形容在美國政界，任期將滿的政界人物所面臨的窘境，尤其是第二個任期即將結束，手中大權即將旁落的總統。因為此時，人們的注意力都集中到候任總統及其未來的政策。這也難怪時下布希總統的「救市」方案為何一再被否，頗有點「樹倒猢猻散」的味道！
不過，可能讓大家最感新鮮的，還是duck用成了動詞。
duck用作動詞，有多個含義。
(1)duck，也常常用成duck down，含義是「to lower your head or body very quickly, especially to avoid being seen or hit」，躲閃，迅速低下身(頭)。
在報導布希躲閃飛鞋時，就有下面的描述:
Throwing shoes at somebody is a supreme insult in the Middle East. One of the shoes sailed over the president's head and slammed into the wall behind him and he had to duck to miss the other one. Maliki tried to block the second shoe with his arm.
(2)duck還指「to move somewhere very quickly, especially to avoid being seen or to get away from someone」，快速躲到某處(特別是避免被人看見或逃脫某人)。例如:
The two suspected attackers ducked into a crowded street and soon disappeared.
(3)duck還可以表示「to avoid something, especially a difficult or unpleasant duty」，躲避，推諉，例如:
The CEO of the company ducked a question from a reporter about the revenue of the company last year.
(4) duck還可以表示「to push someone under water for a short time as a joke」，把某人猛地按入水中，例如:
Tom grabbed him from behind to duck him under the surface.
(5)duck out of something是個短語動詞，表示「to avoid doing something that you have to do or have promised to do」，逃避承諾或該做的事情。例如:
Some college students always duck out of lessons that do not interest them much.