Friends英语赏析【37】把脚塞进了嘴里

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第三十七篇

咖啡馆里，正在和Monica聊天的Chandler被一位漂亮女子所吸引，踌躇了一会儿之后，Chandler鼓起勇气向那位女子走去：

Chandler: Hi, I-I was just sitting over there, and uhh, Chandler. My name is Chandler. Did I say that?
Kathy: No, you didn't. Hi, I'm Kathy.
Chandler: Uh Kathy, with K or a C?
Kathy: With a K.
Chandler: Oh-oh-hey!
Kathy: Wow! You are really good at this.
Chandler: Hey, come on, give me a break, I'm out on a limb here.
Kathy: I'm sorry, you're right, I apologize, but I should tell you that I'm waiting for a date. Oh, and there he is now.
Joey: Hey!
Chandler: Hey! Hey, hey-hey, hey.
Joey: Hey, I see you guys already met, huh?
Chandler: Yes-yes, I was just trying to figure out a way to uh, demonstrate how I could get my exceptionally large feet into my even bigger mouth.
Joey: Didn't I tell ya? Always showing off

【世博视角】

刚开始Chandler还蛮自然的，可等问完那女子的名字之后，他就不知再说什么了，那位叫名叫Kathy的女子看出了Chandler的尴尬，但她还是夸了他一句说：Wow! You are really good at this. 好话并不是句句都顺耳的，对于有自知之明的人来说尤其如此，Chandler明明不善于和女孩子“搭讪”，可对方还说他对此很有一套，这听上去简直有点像反话，所以Chandler对Kathy说：Hey, come on, give me a break, I'm out on a limb here. (哎，得了，别嘲弄了我，我可处境尴尬着呢)。在前几篇中我们讲到过break这个词，作为名词它可以解释为“休息”或是 “分手”，而今天我们又能学到一个和break有关的口语 give somebody a break, 意思是“放某人一马”或“饶某人一回”，比如你欠了别人的钱，别人来要债，可是你的发薪日还没到，这时你就可以求求人家说：Give me a break, you guys! I can't get the money until Friday. 又比如说你平时穿衣都不太讲究，可今天却穿了一套名牌，于是你的朋友同事都纷纷调侃起你的人模狗样来，弄得你怪不好意思的，这时你也可以对他们说一声：Give me a break, okay?

在Chandler的那句话里还有一个习惯表达法，那就是out on a limb, 首先来看一下limb这个词，它可以解释为“人的肢干、树的分支”，我们知道树的分支离树的主干越远，它的承受力也就越小，如果你不幸正挂在枝头，也就是out on a limb, 那就表示你的处境不妙，有点孤立无援的意思，例如：

I've already gone out on a limb; there is nothing more I can do for you.
I want this project to succeed just as much as you do, but I am not willing to go out on a limb.

听到Chandler那么一说，Kathy也觉得她刚才的那句好话说得并不好，因此向Chandler道了歉。然后她告诉Chandler说自已是来和人约会的(I'm waiting for a date.) 正说着，和她约会的那个人来了，原来是Joey, 这下Chandler丑大了，他居然去“搭讪”他好朋友的女朋友，所以他只好他自嘲道：I was just trying to figure out a way to uh, demonstrate how I could get my exceptionally large feet into my even bigger mouth (我正琢磨着怎么来演示我是如何把自己的大脚塞进我那大嘴巴的)。Chandler所说的这句话其实来源于一个习惯用语：put your foot in your mouth, 没人愿意把自己的脚丫子塞进自己的嘴里的，同样也没人愿意自己说错话，put your foot in your mouth 表达的就是这个意思，例如：

I've really put my foot in it this time. I didn't realize that was her husband!
She's a little weird isn't she? Oh no, have I put my foot in my mouth? Is she a friend of yours?

Joey没注意到Chandler的一脸苦笑，还以为他又在卖弄他的幽默呢，于是他对女朋友Kathy说：Didn't I tell ya? Always showing off. (我跟你说了吧，他老是卖弄! ) show off 就是我们平时所说的“买弄”，“爱出风头”，又如：He's always showing off and trying to impress his classmates.

*本篇所讲到的表达法:

give somebody a break
out on a limb
put your foot in your mouth
show off