Five Common English Sayings You Might Be Misusing
你可能用錯了的5個常見英語俗語
Simon Horobin
西蒙·霍羅賓
English is a language rich with imagery，meaning，and metaphor， and when we want to express ourselves we can draw upon a canon replete with beautifully turned phrases， drawing from the language's Latin， French， and Germanic roots—not to mention those apt aphorisms that English has appropriated from other languages.
英語是一門富於意象、內涵及比喻的語言，當我們想要表達自己的想法時，我們可以利用一套寶典，它充滿了從拉丁語、法語和德語發源而來的美詞佳句——更別說英語從其他語言借鑑的貼切恰當的警句格言了。
So why is it we so regularly misuse some of these phrases？ Here are five of the most common sayings that have somehow become lost in translation.
那麼我們為何會頻頻用錯這其中一些短語呢？以下是莫名其妙迷失在轉換過程中的5個最常見俗語。
The proof is in the pudding
證據在布丁中
This is a confusion of a proverb first recorded in 1605 in its correct form： 「The proof of the pudding is in the eating.」 One of the reasons for the confusion is that the word 「proof」 is being used in the older sense 「test」—preserved today in a proofreader who checks the test pages （or 「proof」） of a book before publication. Confusion was further encouraged by the tendency for people to use a shortened version of the proverb： 「the proof of the pudding.」
這是1605年首次收錄的一句諺語的誤用形式，當時的正確用法是：「The proof of the pudding is in the eating.（布丁好壞，不嘗不知。）」之所以出現這樣的誤用，原因之一是「proof」一詞在這裡用的是較古老的「檢驗」含義——如今在書籍出版前對校樣（test pages）（又稱「proof」）進行核對的校對員（proofreader）一詞中還保留著這樣的意思。由於人們喜歡用這個諺語的縮寫版——「The proof of the pudding（對布丁的檢驗）」，誤用的情形得到了進一步的助長。
Since the word 「proof」 is today more commonly used to mean 「evidence，」 the phrase was reworded as if it implied that the evidence for some claim can be located in a pudding. The true explanation of this phrase is quite simple： It doesn't matter how fancy the decoration and presentation，the true test of a pudding is in how it tastes. Or，more generally， the success of something can only be judged by putting it to its intended use.
因為「proof」這個詞如今更常見的用法是指「證據」，這個短語被重新解讀，就好像它的意思是某種說法的證據會存在於布丁之中似的。這個短語的真實意思非常簡單：裝飾得多麼花裡胡哨、說得多麼天花亂墜都不重要，真正檢驗布丁好壞的辦法是看它的味道如何。推而廣之，要評判一個東西好不好，只有用了才知道。
The exception that proves the rule
例外證明規律的存在
This phrase is most commonly used to argue that something that doesn't conform to a rule somehow validates it. This can hardly be the correct use，however， since the claim that all birds can fly is invalidated rather than confirmed by the discovery of penguins or emus. This confusion is often attributed to an incorrect understanding of the word 「prove，」which is used here to mean 「test.」According to this explanation， the phrase means that an exception is the means by which a rule is tested. If the exception cannot be accounted for， the rule must be discarded.
這個短語最常用來證明不符合規律的事物恰恰從某種角度證實了規律的存在。不過，這恐怕不是它的正確用法，因為在發現企鵝和鴯鶓後，所有的鳥都會飛的說法不是得到證實，而是被推翻。這種誤用往往被歸因於對「prove」這個詞的理解出現偏差，它在這裡是指「檢驗」。根據這種解釋，這個短語的意思是：例外是檢驗規律的手段。如果這個例外不能得到解釋，規律就得捨棄。
However， the real confusion lies in the use of the word 「exception.」 Rather than referring to something that does not conform to a rule， 「exception」here refers to something that has been deliberately excluded from it. The phrase derives from a translation of a Latin legal maxim，Exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis， which may be translated as 「the exception confirms the rule in cases not excepted.」 So a shop sign stating the exception，「Open late on Thursdays，」 implies a rule that the shop does not open late on the other days of the week.
不過，真正的誤用在於「exception」這個詞的用法。「exception」在這裡不是指不符合規律的事物，而是指有意被排除在規律之外的事物。這個短語源自對拉丁語當中一個法律準則的翻譯：Exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis，這句話或許可以譯為「例外證實了沒有被排除的情況所存在的規律」。因此，說明例外情形的商店提示牌「周四營業至深夜」暗示著這家商店在一周的其他時間不會營業到很晚的規律。
Off your own back
用自己的後背
（全憑自己的力量）
This phrase is often used to refer to something done using one's own initiative. But in origin it is a cricketing idiom and should correctly be 「off your own bat」—distinguishing runs scored through the batsman's skill from 「extras」 accrued without hitting the ball （byes， wides， no-balls）. This phrase is one of many cricketing idioms in regular use in English. The traditional association of cricket with fair play and good sportsmanship has given rise to expressions such as 「play with a straight bat，」meaning to behave honestly， and 「it's just not cricket，」 to refer to any behavior that flouts common standards of decency.
這個短語往往用來指靠自己的積極行動做到某事。但究其本源，這是一個板球用語，正確的用法應該是「off your own bat（用自己的球板）」——靠擊球手的技能跑動得分，有別於在沒有擊中球（失誤點、歪球、廢球）的情況下得到「附加分」。這個短語是英語中經常使用的眾多板球用語之一。將板球與公平比賽及良好的體育精神聯繫在一起的傳統造就了一些表達方式，比如用「直握球板比賽」來指誠信行事和用「決非板球」來指一切無視普遍正直標準的行為。
If we find ourselves in a tricky situation we may be 「stumped，」 or 「on a sticky wicket.」Someone who has lived to a ripe old age is said to have enjoyed a 「good innings，」 while euphemisms for death include 「close of play，」 or the 「drawing of stumps.」（to be continued）
如果我們發現自己陷入棘手局面，我們可能會「遭到擊殺」或者「身處場地泥濘的三柱門旁（因雨後場地溼滑導致球跳不高而難擊，用來比喻處境不利——本報注）」。樂享天年的人據說是經歷了「獲勝局」，死亡的委婉語則包括「比賽結束」或「撤走門柱」。（上·李鳳芹譯自美國石英財經網站10月18日文章）
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