一日一成语【49】give someone/something a wide berth

give someone/ something a wide berth

berth这个词的其中一个很普通的意思是“铺位”，船上、火车上的铺位都可称berth，宿舍里双格床的上下铺位，也叫berth。在航海上，berth指的是船的泊位。泊船不仅要有容纳船体的空间，还必须在船之间、船与岸之间、船与礁石之间留有空间，以便使船能安全、方便地移动。这样的空间也叫berth。give someone / something a wide berth中的berth便取它的这一个意义。给某人或某物一个很宽阔的泊位，实际上就是和此人或此物保持了距离，也就是对（它）采取“敬而远之、退避三舍”的态度：

The dog looks so ferocious when it barks that the postman gives it a wide berth.
那条狗狂吠时看上去很凶恶，邮差对它敬而远之。

I advise you to give that bar a wide berth; it is said to be related to drug-trafficking and prostitution and thus has an ill reputation.
那家酒吧据说和贩毒、卖淫有关，名声很坏，我劝你还是走远点好。

After a few contacts with the lady I found her intolerably exasperating and gave her as wide a berth as possible.
交往几次之后，我发现那位太太讨厌得难以容忍，于是尽可能回避她。