學了習語那麼久,已經有一種很深的概念,就是若一個短語本身沒意義,或本身有意思但不符合具體的上下文,那麼就是一個習慣用語,below the belt 本身有意思「在腰帶下面」,它還可以意為「腰帶以下,不公正的,暗箭傷人的,不正當的」,寓意:
to be mean and unfair (in a fight)
卑鄙不公平(在戰鬥中)
to not have regards for the rules that have been set out in order to ensure that the fight stays fair
不遵守為確保戰鬥公平而制定的規則
cruel, unjust or unacceptable
殘忍、不公正或不可接受的
something that is unwarranted and unnecessarily brought up
提出的不合理的和不必要的東西
to be unreasonable, unjustifiable and out of turn
不合理的,無法接受的和不適宜的
例如:
The shot that he took at him was completely below the belt. Decent people do not compete like this.
他向他開槍的那一槍完全是不正當的。正派的人不會這樣競爭的。
解析:關係代詞 that 引導的定語從句,修飾先行詞 the shot,在從句中作賓語,常可以省略。
I do not believe in fighting below the belt. The dignity of a fight is lost when people do that.
我不相信不公正的打架。當人們這樣做的時候,戰鬥的尊嚴就喪失了。
Maria always fights below the belt. That is the reason that no one in the society likes to argue with her.
瑪麗亞總是暗箭傷人。這就是當下沒人喜歡跟她爭論的原因。
解析:that on one in the society likes to argue with her 是同位語從句,常見的可以引導同位語從句的名詞還有:news,idea,fact,promise,hope,message等。
I saw a street fight today and apparently even they have rules against fighting below the belt.
我今天看到了一場街頭鬥毆,很明顯,實際上他們有規定禁止打腰帶以下的部位。