英语词汇实用小百科 搭讪大师Pick-up Artist

John: Welcome to this week’s edition of RoundTable’s word of the week. This week we’re looking at the word “Pick-up Artist”. After the video went really really popular about, you know, the guy picking up girls with nice cars in Sanlitun, we thought it’d be a good chance to take a look at some English word related to a popular pastime for some men. So, a pick up artist is a man who trains in the skills in art of finding, attracting, and seducing¹ women.

Heyang: 所以我们今天聊的搭讪大师或者是搭讪艺术家，就是一个非常善于和女生搭讪的男生。

John: And so the use of “pick up” in this context actually is actually slang for making a casual acquaintance with the stranger in anticipation² of sexual relations. It actually dates from a least World War II.

Heyang: So you’re actually saying that sexual element is always involved in this?

John: When we’re talking about picking up a girl, yeah I mean, as an adult, you go to a bar and you pick up a girl, and that means you’re taking her home, probably to have intercourse³.

Heyang: Oh I thought it would be more innocent than that.

John: No

Heyang: Something like you know starting a relationship and you needed an icebreaker.

John: No I mean in in that sense it’s a little bit different. Certainly picking up a girl may lead to a relationship. But the point of picking her up at a club or a bar is not, in fact, necessarily thinking in the longer term. And so part of picking up a girl is having a wingman. So, a wingman is a role that a person may take when a friend needs support with approaching potential partners in order to pick them up.

Heyang: 有可能就是，这个男生带着另外一个男生。 另外这个人是当托儿，帮助想要去猎艳的这位得手。

John: In general a woman’s wingman will help her avoid attention from undesirable⁴ partners whereas a man’s wingman will help him attract desirable ones. Right, and so what happens a lot of times with the wingman, the wingman will befriend or talk up the target’s partners while the person who is trying to pick up the girl will talk to the girl herself. Now all part of this process, part of the pick-up process, is to hit on a girl. And basically this just means a flirting⁵ with her in order to initiate⁶ sexual attraction and more discussion.

Heyang: So is this quite a strong phrase that has sexual connotations again?

John: So again I mean like you consider I’m flirting with a girl, I mean that can be anything from innocent to we’re having a bit of fun to, you know, I’m actually trying to pick her up. Now when you’re hitting on a girl, that definitely means that you’re trying to pick her up.

Heyang: Ok, we’ve got that clarified. And also when you try to pick up a girl you need to come up with a line. An opener. What is that called?

John: Exactly. So those are called, well as you might have guessed, pick-up lines, sometimes they’re also called chat-up lines. That’s basically just a conversation opener trying to engage an unfamiliar⁷ person in an actual conversation for romance or perhaps even dating.

Heyang: And that can be very difficult.

John: Exactly. So the thing is pick-up lines are commonly used by men who pick up women. They can be very straightforward⁸, they can be very subtle, they can be very tasteful, they can be very brash as well. But novices⁹ pick up artists are advised to avoid standardized¹⁰ hackneyed lines. For example, are you an interior decorator? Because when I saw you, the entire room became beautiful.

Heyang: Eww, cheesy！

John: Or, do you have a Band-Aid because I scraped my knees falling for you.

Heyang: Eww, kindergardenish and gives me goose bumps.

John:Exactly, so if you’re a potential, or thinking about becoming a pick up artist, you want to pick up some girls, get a wingman, hit on them, get some pickup¹¹ lines, just don’t use those. But that’s all the time we have for this edition of RoundTable’s word of the week, thank you so much for joining us and we’ll see you next week.

1 seducing   

诱奸( seduce的现在分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷

参考例句：

• He got into trouble for seducing the daughter of a respectable tradesman. 他因为引诱一个有名望的商人的女儿而惹上了麻烦。
• Chao Hsin-mei, you scoundrel, you shameless wretch, seducing a married woman. 赵辛楣，你这混帐东西！无耻家伙！引诱有夫之妇。

2 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

3 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

4 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

5 flirting   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分

6 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

7 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

8 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

9 novices   

n.新手( novice的名词复数 )；初学修士（或修女）；（修会等的）初学生；尚未赢过大赛的赛马

参考例句：

• The Russians are such novices in Africa. 在非洲的俄国人简直都是些毫无经验的生手。 来自辞典例句
• Where the primary track all novices, screams everywhere, ha ha good terror. 那里的初级道上全是生手，到处都是尖叫声，哈哈好恐怖的。 来自互联网

10 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

11 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。