俚语：衬衫的几个特殊意义

　　1 To lose one's shirt

　　Lose的意思当然就是丢掉，或者失去什么东西。可是，to lose one's shirt 实际上并不是真的指丢了衬衫。它的确切意思是某个人失去了他所有的一切。

　　例句：Did you hear what happened to Joe? He's lost his shirt, the poor guy invested¹ all his money in a fancy² restaurant and it just went out of business.

　　你有没有听到关于乔的事？他可真是丢掉了一切，真可怜。他把所有的钱都投资在一家豪华的餐馆里。而这家餐馆不久前倒闭了。

　　又如：Be careful of salesmen who call on the phone and offer to sell you land on the beach down in Florida. You can lose your shirt because the chances are the land is under water at high tide.

　　对那些通过电话来鼓动你买弗罗里达州靠海滨的土地的推销员，你得十分小心。你要不小心就有可能会损失一切，因为这些地很可能就是那些在涨潮的时候会被水淹没的地。

　　2 To keep one's shirt on

　　To keep one's shirt on 字面意思就是“穿上你的衬衣。”听起来是个好主意，可是，它到底是什么意思呢？其实，它是指不要紧张，或者是不要在不了解情况的时候就发火。

　　例句：Keep your shirt on, Harry:we have plenty of time to catch the train.

　　哈里，你别太紧张了，我们有足够的时间赶到火车站。

　　To Keep one's shirt on 在更多的场合下意为保持冷静，在对情况不够了解之前不要发火。比如说，丈夫晚了三个小时回家吃晚饭。一到家，他就看到他的太太火冒三丈，于是，他马上就对太太说：

　　Honey, keep your shirt on, please! I'm sorry, but the boss made me work late at the office.

　　亲爱的，请你千万别发火。我很抱歉。我的老板给了我好多活，弄得我不得不在办公室加班。

　　3 To give you the shirt off his back.

　　从字面上来解释，to give you the shirt off his back 就是把他的衬衣从背上脱下来给你。一个人要是肯把衬衣脱下来给你的话，那就是一个在你患难的时候能拿出他所有的一切，包括他的衬衣，来帮忙的人。这种朋友是很可贵的。所以，to give you the shirt off his back指尽自己的力量帮助别人。

　　例如：Of course Dad gets mad at me sometimes for no good reason. But if I ever need it, I know he would give me the shirt off his back.

　　我父亲有时对我发火也不见得有什么道理。但是，只要我需要，他总是会尽一切力量帮助我的。

　　又如：Pete never says very much. But when he hears about somebody who's sick in the hospital or lost his job, he's always the first to put his hand in his pocket and bring out money to help. Yes, sir, he's the kind of man who'd give you the shirt off his back.

　　皮特这个人平时话不多。但是，每当他听说某人有病进了医院，或失了业，他总是第一个拿钱出来帮忙。是的，他是这种会尽力帮助别人的人。

　　4 A stuffed³ shirt

　　Stuffed有好几种解释，有时是指装的满满的，有时又指吃得过饱。那么，a stuffed shirt 是什么意思呢？A stuffed shirt是指那些爱摆架子，表现得神气十足的人。对于这种人最好是敬而远之。这种人既傲慢，又顽固，自以为了不起，他们参加任何社交活动都属于不受欢迎的人。

　　例句：My boss is a stuffed shirt: all he talks about is how important his ancestors⁴ are, how he was number one in his class at his university, and the wonderful things he thinks he's done for our company.

　　我的老板老是爱摆架子，吹嘘自己。他一开口就是说他祖先的地位有多么重要，他在大学念书时如何成为班里的第一名，还自称对我们公司作出了很大的贡献等等。

　　又如：I think I'll vote for Jimmy Brown instead of the other guy James Leland Elegant⁵ the third. Jimmy isn't a stuffed shirt like Elegant--he's a friendly, informal⁶ guy like us ordinary people.

　　我想我会投布朗的票，而不投那个看来很高雅的利兰。布朗不像利兰那么神气活现。他很友好、随和，就像我们普通老百姓一样。

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