密歇根新闻广播 Take the L是什么意思

Sometimes a not-so-great experience can be made just a bit better if you have an excellent slang¹ phrase to describe it.

We think "take the L" falls right into that category.

Some of us in the more, ahem, mature set may not be familiar with this phrase. Fortunately, English Professor Anne Curzan has plenty of students who are always happy to clue us in. As they tell us, "take the L" means "take the loss."

Here's an example of when this phrase might come in handy.

You've been up half the night studying for a test. At some point, you realize you're never going to learn all the information before you have to take the test in the morning. So, you decide to give up and go to bed. In other words, you take the L.

This is a pretty versatile² phrase, even for those of us a little further on in our lives.

When Curzan told a friend who works at the University of Michigan about "take the L," she said, "Oh, that's like when you have initiative³ when you're really excited about, and you can't get anybody else on board, and you really should just take the L."

On the flip⁴ side, you can also "take the dub⁵." That's "dub" as in the letter "W."

You might use this phrase when asking someone out. You could say, "I asked her out, and I got the dub." Or, in another workplace example, you might use this phrase after a successfull meeting with your boss. "I asked for a raise, and I got the dub."

What words or phrases do you hear the kids saying these days? Or, if you are one of those younger folks, what are you and your friends saying right now?

1 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

2 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

3 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

4 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

5 dub   

vt.（以某种称号）授予，给...起绰号，复制

参考例句：

• I intend to use simultaneous recording to dub this film.我打算采用同期录音的方法为这部影片配音。
• It was dubbed into Spanish for Mexican audiences.它被译制成西班牙语以方便墨西哥观众观看。