相信大部分都看过《爱丽丝梦游仙境》吧,它不仅编织了一个奇幻的地下世界,还创造出了很多的英语流行语,down the rabbit hole(进入未知的天地),mad as a hatter(疯疯癫癫)以及jabberwocky(胡说八道)等常用语的流行都和这个童话故事有着密不可分的关系。
1:Mad as a hatter 疯疯癫癫
Mad as a hatter is to suggest that a person is suffering from insanity. The phrase had been in use since 1835 to describe an unusual medical condition affecting hat manufacturers.
Mad as a hatter指一个人出现精神错乱。
2:Cheshire Cat grin 咧嘴坏笑
Much as with our buddy the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat has been ingrained in the membrane. The adjectival phrase is, once again, associated with a specific character. So whenever someone describes a person as grinning like a Cheshire cat, we can picture that huge, mischievous — and slightly unsettling — smile.
和“疯帽子”一样,“柴郡猫”(Cheshire Cat)的形象也已深入人心。Cheshire Cat grin的含义也和书中角色有关。Cheshire Cat grin用来形容一个人的笑戏谑而略显阴森。
3:Off with their heads! 砍掉他们的头!
“红心王后”性格小张残酷,成天叫嚷着“砍掉他们的脑袋”(Off with their heads!)。
Sure, Shakespeare scribbled it first—but Carroll’s Queen of Hearts certainly popularized the imperative.
这句台词出自莎士比亚,但“红心王后”确实让它流行起来了。
现在,人们经常用这句话表示想要除掉有问题的人。
4:Jabberwocky 胡说八道
Prior to its 1871 print debut, jabberwocky was a nonsense word that served as the nonsense title of a nonsense poem in?Through the Looking-Glass. Now, it's a real entry in the real dictionary that really means “meaningless speech.”
在1871年《爱丽丝镜中奇遇记》面世之前,jabberwocky就是故事中的一个毫无意义的单词。现在,jabberwocky用于表示“毫无意义的废话”的意思。