大家肯定有疑問:難道mum's word不是「媽媽的話」?這裡的mum和媽媽沒有關係哦~它原意指的是被捂住嘴後發出的"mmm..."的聲音,表示不願意或不能說話~那mum's the word的意思大家應該已經猜出來了吧~它表示保密!
這個習語來自於莎士比亞的《亨利六世》。Seal up your lips and give no words but mum.直接翻譯是:閉上嘴巴,啥也不說,除了保持沉默。於是,mum is the word就從句子中提取出來,用在提醒別人保持沉默,恪守諾言的語境。
其中的"mum"是"momme"的俚語說法,在中古英語中是「保持沉默」的意思。"mum"的這層意思,是由"murmur"--「啞劇演員」發展而來。
A boy presents a handkerchief he made for his mother at a kindergarten in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, May 9, 2013. Children made cards, handkerchiefs and other gifts for their mother to celebrate the coming Mother's Day. [Photo/Xinhua]舉個例子:
「I won the lottery!」Paul whispered in his wife's ear.
「我中彩了!」保羅在妻子的耳邊悄聲說。
「Don't breathe a word!」
「千萬要保密!」
「Okay,honey;mum is the word.」
「好的,絕對不講出去。」
那麼,當別人跟你說Mum's the word讓你給他保密時,除了Yes還可以怎麼回答得更加真誠呢?
I won't say a word.
我保證對誰都不說出去。
I won't say anything.
我什麼都不說。
My lips are sealed.
我的嘴很緊。
當然可能有些大嘴巴,忍不住就說出去了,通常開場白是這樣的:我跟你說件事,你不要告訴別人哦!然後就開始洩露秘密了。
I'll level with you.
好吧,我就直說吧。
I have a confession to make.
有件事我一定要坦白。
Well, as a matter of fact...
好吧,說實話……
那如果是你不小心說漏嘴了咋辦?
It was a slip of the tongue.
無意中說漏了嘴。
Really? Didn't she know about it?
真的嗎?她不知道這件事?
I spilled the beans.
我洩露了秘密。
I stuck my foot in my mouth.
我把不好/失禮的事說出去了。
不過做人嘛,還是要有分寸和底線的。當你忍不住要說出去的時候,就想一想:別人跟你說這個秘密的時候,有多信任你吧!
另外,我們整理了一份和媽媽有關的表達。
01 Mummy's boy
Mummy's boy指的是:很聽媽媽的話,什麼事情都讓母親來做主,而自己毫無主見的男生或者成年男性。也就是我們常說的「媽寶男」!
Don't marry him! He's just a mummy's boy.
別嫁給他!他就是一個媽寶男。
Tim is a mummy's boy. He left his girlfriend because his mother didn't like her.
提姆是一個媽寶男,因為他媽媽不喜歡他的女朋友,所以他離開了對方。
02 everyone and their mum
Everyone and their mum:
每個人和他們的媽媽 ×
大多數人,很多人 √
這個短語,用誇張的手法來形容「非常多的人,幾乎每一個人」
Everyone and their mum is going on a vacation, but I have to work.
大家都要休假了,可我還得工作。
03 stay-at-home mom
Stay-at-home mom:大家應該很好猜出來是什麼意思吧?呆在家裡不外出工作,全身心在家帶寶寶的媽媽,也就是「全職媽媽」。
Being a stay-at-home mom is as much hard work as going to an office everyday.
全職媽媽和每天出去工作一樣辛苦。
John: So we've been talking about women's roles in society. And are you a stay-at-home mom or a working mom?
約翰:我們來談談女性在社會中的角色。你是全職媽媽還是職場媽媽?
Sarah: Well, I guess I'm both. Right now, I'm on maternity leave and I'm on six months of maternity leave.
薩拉:嗯,我想我兩者都是。目前我在休產假,我正在休為期6個月的產假。
John: What does that mean?
約翰:這是什麼意思?
Sarah: So maternity leave is when you have a job but then you become pregnant or you're going to have a baby, maybe adopt, too. So you're going to have a baby, and so you take time off of work to stay home with the new baby.
薩拉:產假是指你有工作,不過因為你懷孕了或者即將生產,或是領養,在你要生產的時候,你可以休假,留在家裡照顧孩子。
04 mother's knee
At your mother's knee直譯過來是「在你媽媽的膝上」,而實際要表達的是:幼年時或是兒時學到的技能,比如畫畫,鋼琴,舞蹈這些啟蒙技能。
舉個例子,小白很小的時候就學會了畫畫,他就可以這樣說:
I learnt to paint at my mother's knee.
我在幼年時學會了塗色。