今天要分享的這個詞鏈,call the shots
乍一看似乎有些無釐頭。
其實在日常生活中也蠻高頻的~
情景簡介:
Jules出差回到家,與老公吐露心聲。其實Jules出差與CEO談話等等,都是為了想要和Matt重歸於好,希望Matt重新回歸家庭,停止婚外情。
這段扎心的視頻片段一起來看~~
Hi.
Hey!
You smell minty.
I just made mint tea.
-Ah.
-So...
Yes? No?
I did it.
I liked him. A IOL And, uh,
I offered him the job.
Wow. Really?
Yeah.
And you're okay with it?
Yeah.
I think it'll be good for us.
Do we have any, like, real booze, like vodka or something?
Yeah.
Did "good for us" mean About The Fit or us?
You and me, us.
I figure if someone else can call some of the shots at work, then maybe we can get back to where we were 18 months ago.
They say you can't put a genie back in the bottle, but we can try, right?
視頻中出現了這句:
I figure if someone else can call some of the shots at work…
什麼意思呢?
call the shots也可以說call the tune
根據專家的推測call the shots最早出現在二次世界大戰期間部隊的打靶場,成千上萬的新兵在那裡接受射擊訓練。他們對著五十米外或者更遠處的靶子開火,當新兵練習射擊的時候。另外有一名士兵負責用望遠鏡觀察靶子,然後告訴打槍的新兵他擊中了目標的什麼部位,以便指導新兵改進技能。這就是call the shots當年的出典。
控制,操縱,處於決策地位
例:
It’s my life. I call the shots.
我的生活我做主。
When did you start calling the shots?
幾時輪到你發號施令了?
shot在口語中,影片中也是非常高頻的詞彙
我們今天來說道說道這個小詞相關的表達:
shot最普通的解釋是開槍射擊,然而它用在不同的地方會產生不同的意義。
英釋:someone who is skilled/ not skilled at aiming and firing a gun.
槍法好/差的槍手
這裡shot是「打針「的意思
a shot in the arm從字面來看就是在手臂上打一針。我們打針也許是為了補充營養增強體質,更可能是防病治病。總之,a shot in the arm都是為了增進健康的。但是習慣用語a shot in the arm可表示「興奮劑,刺激因素,振奮人心的因素」
例:
To this lonely soldier serving overseas, a letter from his wife is a welcome shot in the arm.
妻子的信讓這名在海外服役的孤獨的軍人精神振奮。
The money was a shot in the arm for the company.
這筆錢對這家公司來說真是雪中送炭。
The new members gave the club a shot in the arm.
新成員給該俱樂部增添了新鮮血液。
這裡shot 是」開槍射擊」的意思。可以想像這樣一幕情景:有人在夜深人靜的時候聽到家裡樓下有動靜,於是下去察看,到了樓下果然聽到有人破門而入、企圖行竊,由於太黑暗,他什麼也看不到,但還是盲無目標地開了槍,希望能碰巧打中壞蛋, 或者至少嚇跑盜賊。
這也許就是a shot in the dark這個習慣用語的出典。表示「無根據的瞎猜/瞎矇」
例:
It was just a shot in the dark, but I got the right answer.
我是瞎猜猜的,可是我猜對了。
I was just a shot in the dark.
我只是瞎起鬨而已。
bow可以指船首,a shot across the bow原來是海軍的專用語,它指軍艦對可疑船隻發炮,落到貼近那條船的船首作為警告,命令這艘船停止前進。要是它不服從命令,那麼軍艦就會直接向它開火了。在近十來年來,這個古老的軍用術語被借用到其他地方,尤其流行於政界或工商界。表示「(若不改變就會有某種後果的)警告」
例:
"Greece is a shot across the bow, " says Henry.
Henry說希臘只是一個警鐘。
英釋:to make as much effort as you can to achieve sth difficult
這裡,shot是「嘗試、努力」的意思。
我們都知道,give是給;best是最好的。give sth one's best shot, 意思是:不管會不會成功,都會盡力而為。
例:
It hurts to lose but we gave it our best shot.
輸了很難過,但是我們已經盡力了。
You'll realize your dream once you give it your best shot.
你一旦能竭盡全力,肯定可以實現夢想。
之前的【看《美國夫人》學地道口語】中也出現了這個詞鏈,點擊回顧~
shot是射擊,long shot 射程遠。射程遠擊中的可能性就很小。
long shot:sb or sth with very little chance of success
不大會成功的嘗試,機會渺茫,可能性很小
例:
We both know that’s a long shot.
你我都知道機會渺茫/可能性很小。
It’s a long shot, but it’s all I got.
機會不大,但我別無他選了。
英釋:not in any way
絲毫沒有,一點也不;絕不可能
例:
Do you think he is a good businessman? Not by a long shot!
你認為他是一位能幹的實業家嗎?
絕對不是。
這裡shot是名詞」子彈
出膛的子彈速度飛快,所以like a shot一定有「像子彈一樣飛快」的意思。
飛快地;立刻;毫不猶豫地
例:
As soon as he heard the news, he was off like a shot.
一聽到這消息他馬上就趕去了。
抓牢機會;試一試
例:
Take a shot at it, will you?
試一下,好麼?
I would like to see him take a shot at this.
我想看他嘗試一下。
Every Friday night, Rick would go out on the booze.
每周五晚上,裡克都會出去大喝一通。
She's been off the booze for a month now.
到現在她已經一個月滴酒不沾了。
put a genie back in the bottle
有一本童話故事,The Genie in the Bottle瓶子裡的妖怪。感興趣的小夥伴可以讀一讀喲!
①我們的工作還沒有完,遠遠沒有完。(not by a long shot)
②他是發號施令者。(call the shots)
①Our work has not been done, not by a long shot.
②He is the man calling the shots.