英语俚语天天说 第52期:进退两难between a rock and hard place
日期:2015-01-18 11:19

(单词翻译:单击)

进退两难.gif

释义:

Between…and 在…之间;rock 石头;hard place 坚硬的地方;between a rock and a hard place: Being in a dilemma where the only two available options are both unsatisfying or bad. 处于一个两难的境地中,其中的两种选择都很糟糕;

来源:

The origin of this phrase is believed to be rooted in the United States. 这个俚语来自美国;It is not entirely

clear on where exactly this expression comes from, 具体的来源地不是很清楚;but some guess it may come from Arizona during financial panics that happened in the early 20th century. 但是有人猜测它来自于20世纪发生于亚利桑那州的金融恐慌;According to The Phrase Finder, the earliest known recording of the idiom can be found in the Dialect Notes V from the year 1921, where it reads: 据发现者说,关于这个习语最早的记录来自于1921年的Dialect Notes V,其中是这么写的:"To be between a rock and a hard place, to be bankrupt. Common in Arizona in recent panics; sporadic in California." 处于两难的境地,并且要破产,这在亚利桑那州很普遍,但在加利福尼亚偶尔发生;Judging by that quote, it looks as though the phrase originally meant to be bankrupt, where as today it means "facing a tough dilemma." 根据上面的引用判断,这个词组刚开始是用来表示破产,而现在被用来指代进退两难;

举例:

1. I'm between a rock and a hard place... on one hand I can go to the movies with my girlfriend, or I can choose to go to dinner with my friends.

选择去和朋友看电影,还是和女朋友去吃饭,我真的是进退两难啊 ;

2. I really want to quit my job, but I need the money, I feel caught between a rock and a hard place.

我好想辞职,可是又需要钱,我觉得左右为难。

分享到
重点单词
  • phrasen. 短语,习语,个人风格,乐句 vt. 措词表达,将(
  • quoten. 引用 v. 引述,举证,报价
  • sporadicadj. 不定时发生的,零星的
  • dilemman. 困境,进退两难
  • recordingn. 录音 动词record的现在分词
  • dialectn. 方言
  • bankruptadj. 破产的,贫穷的,道德败坏的,枯竭的 n. 破产
  • availableadj. 可用的,可得到的,有用的,有效的