十八世紀(jì)愛(ài)爾蘭政客Sir Boyle Roche常常發(fā)表驚人的言論，例如：Half the lies our opponents tell about me are not true! （那些攻擊我的謊言，十有四五都是無(wú)中生有?。┊?dāng)時(shí)人們笑他失言，就說(shuō)：He has put his foot in his mouth again.
Put one’s foot in one’s mouth直譯的話是“把自己的腳放進(jìn)自己的嘴里”，為什么它的意思卻是“說(shuō)錯(cuò)話”呢？原來(lái)這個(gè)成語(yǔ)是從另一個(gè)成語(yǔ)put one’s foot in it衍生出來(lái)的。Put one’s foot in it本來(lái)是指一不小心一腳踩在污水或比污水更加厲害的東西上面，現(xiàn)在英國(guó)人也直接用這個(gè)成語(yǔ)來(lái)表達(dá)“說(shuō)錯(cuò)話”。put one’s foot in one’s mouth就是一不小心一腳踩在自己的嘴巴上了，也就是說(shuō)錯(cuò)話，美國(guó)人更習(xí)慣這種用法。
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English對(duì)put one’s foot in it / put one’s foot in one’s mouth的解釋是這樣的：to say something wrong or unsuitable, as a result of thoughtlessness, and so cause an awkward situation.
例如：
I really put my foot in my mouth when I asked him how his wife was; she’s left him for another man.
（我真的不該多嘴去問(wèn)他他的妻子怎樣，她已經(jīng)離開(kāi)他而跟另一個(gè)男人去了。）
Go to Other Sections
Story Tools
Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved
版權(quán)聲明：未經(jīng)中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站許可，任何人不得復(fù)制本欄目?jī)?nèi)容。如需轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)與本網(wǎng)站聯(lián)系。
None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
