VOA名师答疑2024--Sure as Heck

Sure as Heck

　　Hello! Welcome to Ask a Teacher. This week, we answer a question that relates not just to language, but also politeness and foreign policy. It comes from Hai in Vietnam. He writes,

　　Question:

　　I would highly appreciate it if you could let me know the meaning of this phrase: "It sure as heck ain't good."

　　Hai, Vietnam.

　　Answer:

　　Dear Hai,

　　Thank you for writing to us and providing a link to the place where you read the sentence. The quote that you asked about is from a January 31 press conference at the White House. The Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, invited spokesman John Kirby to answer questions from reporters. One reporter said the European Union had recently offered to give Ukraine only half of what it had been promised. The reporter asked:

　　How bad is all this for the Ukrainian forces and do you see an impact on the battlefield already?

　　Kirby gave this answer:

　　It sure as heck ain't good. And this is why we need the supplemental funding.

　　There are three things an English learner needs to know to understand Kirby's answer. The first one has to do with the language that Kirby used.

　　Heck

　　"Heck" is in the class of words called euphemisms². They are words or expressions people use instead of saying something that might be offensive or could sound uneducated. "Heck" is a euphemism¹ for the word "hell." Kirby, like most government officials, is trying to use more formal language, but he also wants to bring attention to the serious nature of the problem. So, he uses "heck" instead of "hell," a word that is much stronger. "Hell," in many religions, is a very unpleasant place where bad people go.

　　Ain't

　　The second thing learners need to know is the short form, "ain't." The contraction³ "ain't" is usually a short form of "am not," but it can also mean "is not" or "are not" as well as "have not" or "has not." In our example, Kirby could have said, "It is not good."

　　Like most informal contractions⁴, we must tell you it is best to avoid "ain't" in all writing for school or work and in speech. For more information, see our Everyday Grammar on this subject, This Ain't It and Other Short Forms.

　　Supplemental

　　Kirby said: "It sure as heck ain't good. And this is why we need the supplemental funding." The United States Congress must approve all spending by the U.S. government. A supplemental funding request can be made to ask Congress to approve additional spending that has not been provided for in earlier spending legislation.

　　I hope this helps you understand Kirby's comments, Hai.

　　What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at [email protected]

　　Words in This Story

　　politeness – n. the quality of being mindful of the feelings of others

　　impact – n. influence or effect

　　supplemental – adj. something added to another thing in order to increase or improve it

　　contraction – n. a shortened form of a word or words

1 euphemism   

n.婉言，委婉的说法

参考例句：

• Language reflects culture and euphemism is a mirror of culture.语言反映文化,而婉语则是各种文化的一面镜子。
• Euphemism is a very common and complicated linguistic phenomenon.委婉语是一种十分常见而又非常复杂的语言现象。

2 euphemisms   

n.委婉语，委婉说法( euphemism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• No point is in mincing words or hiding behind euphemisms. 没有必要闪烁其词或者羞羞答答。 来自辞典例句
• No point in mincing words or hiding behind euphemisms. 没必要闪烁其词或者羞羞答答。 来自辞典例句

3 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

4 contractions   

n.收缩( contraction的名词复数 )；缩减；缩略词；（分娩时）子宫收缩

参考例句：

• Contractions are much more common in speech than in writing. 缩略词在口语里比在书写中常见得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Muscle contractions are powered by the chemical adenosine triphosphate(ATP ). 肌肉收缩是由化学物质三磷酸腺苷(ATP)提供动力的。 来自辞典例句