VOA慢速英语--You Don't Need a Snake to Be 'Snakebit'

 

Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.

On this show, we explore American idioms and expressions. We try to help you understand common expressions and how to use them in everyday speech.

You know, at times in life, things just do not go our way. We all have days when nothing goes right. In fact, everything goes wrong. Mistakes, mishaps² and misfortune³ seem to follow us around.

If you have a long period of bad luck, you could say you are snakebit.

Merriam-Webster online dictionary claims that this usage⁴ of “snakebit” dates back to 1957. It does not say much about the history of the word. But getting bit by any animal would not be a sign of good luck. So perhaps the root of the term is that simple.

If you are snakebit for a really long period of time, you may start to think that you are jinxed. The word "jinx" can be either a noun or a verb. As a noun, a jinx leads to bad luck and misfortune. If you jinx something – the verb form – you bring bad luck to something or someone.

A jinx is like a curse. You really believe that everything you do will turn out badly. Even if you don’t believe in curses, just thinking that something bad will happen to you might make it happen. Now, let’s hear how these terms are used by two friends at a basketball game.

A: This has been a great game! There is only five minutes left and the game is tied.

B: I wish our team would just score and pull ahead. Being tied is driving me crazy! It's a good thing that I wore my lucky hat.

A: What are talking about? There is no such thing as luck. We just need to play better than the other team.

B: Look, our team has been snakebit for weeks! We’ve lost our last five games. So they need all the help they can get.

A: Don’t worry. There's no way we are going to lose this game.

B: Don’t jinx us. Quick…Knock on wood to break the jinx!

A: There’s no such thing as a jinx and I will not hit a piece of wood or anything else. I’m not superstitious⁵.

B: Well, I am! There. Maybe that will break the curse.

A: You look foolish.

B: Really? Well, our team just scored!

Some sports lovers and many players are superstitious. It is a common part of the sporting culture. And we have a special word for players who are having a string of bad luck. We say they have the “yips.”

Having the yips is a kind of nervous tension that affects the person’s performance. For example, the baseball pitcher⁶ had a bad case of the yips. He could not find his strike zone. So his coach replaced him in the game with another player.

Athletes and non-athletes alike can be snakebit. And some people just seem to be snakebit all the time. You could say, they are born under a bad sign. That means they were born during an unlucky time of the year.

Born under a bad sign

I Been down since I began to crawl

If it wasn't for bad luck, you know I wouldn't have no luck at all

The "bad sign" in this expression relates to astrology. William Bell helped to write this song. He wanted to compose a blues⁷ song about astrology.

Hard luck and trouble is my only friend

I been on my own ever since I was ten

Born under a bad sign

I Been down since I began to crawl

If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all

If you were "born under a bad sign," it means the stars were in a formation that have worked against you since birth. (This is also where we get the expression it just wasn’t in the stars. But we’ll save star expressions for another program!)

Keep in mind, being snakebit is more than just one unlucky thing happening to you. So, getting dismissed from work can be an unlucky event. But if everything else in your life is going great, you would not say that you are snakebit.

In order to be truly snakebit, you must have a series of failures or problems.

And that’s Words and Their Stories. I’m Anna Matteo.

Do you have an expression in your language about getting bit by a snake? Let us know in the Comments Section.

I was snakebit again.

I got snakebit again.

Words in This Story

misfortune – n. bad luck : an unlucky condition or event

mishap¹ – n. a small mistake or amount of bad luck : an unlucky accident or mistake

curse – n. a cause of trouble or bad luck

strike zone – n. the area over home plate through which a pitched baseball must pass to be called a strike

blues – n. a feeling of sadness or depression

superstition⁸ – n. a belief or way of behaving that is based on fear of the unknown and faith in magic or luck : a belief that certain events or things will bring good or bad luck : superstitious – adj. of, relating to, or influenced by superstition

score – n. the number of points, goals, runs, etc., that each player or team has in a game or contest

astrology – n. the study of how the positions of the stars and movements of the planets have a supposed influence on events and on the lives and behavior of people

1 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

2 mishaps   

n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a series of mishaps 一连串的倒霉事
• In spite of one or two minor mishaps everything was going swimmingly. 尽管遇到了一两件小小的不幸，一切都进行得很顺利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 misfortune   

n.不幸，厄运，逆境，不幸事故，灾难

参考例句：

• It is said to be an omen of misfortune.那被认为是一种不幸的先兆。
• She had the misfortune to break her leg.她不幸摔断了腿。

4 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

5 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

6 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

7 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

8 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。