英语热词：点头族、摇头族还是“随便族”

 　　职场之大，无奇不有。你提出一个proposal，乐观派满口yay表示支持，悲观派说了一堆nay表示不可行，还有冷漠派在一边耸耸肩膀，说了声meh。

　　Naysayer refers to a person who says something will not work or is not possible, or someone who often denies, refuses, or opposes something.

　　Naysayer指那些说某事成不了、经常否定、拒绝或者反对一些事情的人，即“摇头族”。

　　Nay在这里是no的俚语说法。

　　Yaysayer is a person who is generally inclined to agree or to act in a positive manner.

　　Yaysayer则是那些对什么事都持积极乐观的态度并表示支持的人，即“点头族”。

　　Yay这个词可能是yeah在口语中的非正式形态，有时也用作表达兴奋、欢呼的感叹词。

　　接下来就是上面两位的表妹meh登场了。

　　Meh-sayer refers to a person who generally expresses indifference¹ or apathy² towards something.

　　Meh-sayer指对一些事情毫不在意、无动于衷的人，即“冷漠派”或“随便族”。

　　这里的meh就是whatever、I don't mind以及I don't care等“无所谓”的意思。

　　No one is completely certain how the use of meh originated, but most sources quote a 2001 episode of The Simpsons as one of the earliest examples. Impossible to accurately³ define, meh is cropping up increasingly to mean something like a non-commital OK, whatever, if you want, I don't mind … Circumstances surrounding its utterance⁴ (and, if spoken, tone of voice) give it a more specific meaning, but in general terms, meh usually implies some kind of indifference to what has just been said.

　　关于meh这个用法的起源，没有完全确定的说法，不过大部分引源都显示2001年《辛普森一家》的剧集中最早使用了meh这个说法。虽然无法给出明确的定义，但meh这个词在越来越多的场合表示心不在焉的“行”、“随便”、“看你吧”、“我无所谓”等意思。说这个词时的具体场景(以及说话时的语气)可能会让它具体的意思有所区别，但总的来说，meh通常表示对所闻之事漠然或不关心的态度。

　　比如：

　　'Want to go for a walk?' – 'Dunno … Meh.'

　　“想走走吗?”——“不知道啊，随便吧。”

　　'Do you like my new shirt?' – 'Meh.'

　　“我的新衬衫怎么样?”——“还行吧。”

 

1 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

2 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

3 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

4 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。