英语俚语天天说 第71期:丑事Skeleton In The Closet

 　　丑事.jpg

　　释义

　　Skeleton 骨架，骨骼；

　　closet储藏室

　　An embarrassing secret；A secret source of shame, potentially ruinous if exposed, which a person or family makes efforts to conceal¹.

　　让人尴尬的秘密；一个不可见人的秘密，如果暴露就会招致不好的后果；

　　来源

　　This phrase was coined in England in the 19th century.

　　这个词组在19世纪的英国被发明。

　　The English now usually use &`&a skeleton in the cupboard&`&, with &`&skeleton in the closet&`& more common in the USA.

　　现在英国人用得更多的是skeleton in the cupboard ，美国人多用skeleton in the closet 。

　　A skeleton in the closet&`& undoubtedly² originated as an allusion³ to an apparently⁴ irreproachable⁵ person or family having a guilty secret waiting to be uncovered.

　　储藏室里的骨架，暗示的是一个没有过失的人或者家庭做出了不可告人的错事。

　　The close-at-hand domestic imagery of a closet or cupboard gives a sense of the ever-present risk of discovery.

　　储藏室或者橱柜里的骨架这个比喻很形象地说明这个秘密很有可能随时被发现。

　　The phrase was first used in the early 1800s.

　　这个词组第一次有记载的使用是在18世纪。

　　The first reference found in print is a figurative one in a piece by William Hendry Stowell, in the UK monthly periodical The Eclectic Review, 1816.

　　William Hendry Stowell 在1816年英国名叫The Eclectic Review 的月刊中提到。

　　Two great sources of distress⁶ are the danger of contagion⁷ and the apprehension⁸ of hereditary⁹ diseases.

　　不幸的两个源泉是这种疾病传染的危险性和遗传的恐惧。

　　The dread¹⁰ of being the cause of misery¹¹ to posterity¹² has prevailed over men to conceal the skeleton in the closet...

　　人们担心会遗传给后代，于是都会去隐瞒这个事情。 也有人说这个词组来源于臭名昭著的抢尸者的年代，也就是在1832年之前，英国的解剖学法令还没有允许医生使用尸体来做科学研究，所以有些医生会非法藏尸体在家里的储藏室里。 举例

　　1, 王小二想竞选总统，但是因为他的丑事太多，所以一定不会成功； He&`&s a very popular senator but he will never be elected president; he has too many skeletons in the closet.

　　2, 刚找男朋友，你妈不喜欢，就问你那个男孩有什么不好的地方，你不耐烦地说： I had only known him for one week. How could I know what skeletons he had in his closet?

1 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

2 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

3 allusion   

n.暗示，间接提示

参考例句：

• He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
• She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 irreproachable   

adj.不可指责的，无过失的

参考例句：

• It emerged that his past behavior was far from irreproachable.事实表明，他过去的行为绝非无可非议。
• She welcomed her unexpected visitor with irreproachable politeness.她以无可指责的礼仪接待了不速之客。

6 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

7 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

8 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

9 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

10 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

11 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

12 posterity   

n.后裔，子孙，后代

参考例句：

• Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
• The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。