指教
親愛的小文:
你說姥姥手指腫了,要不要緊?腫的哪一只?
手指是finger,指頭尖是fingertip,She was a lady to her fingertips是"她渾身都是淑女",連指頭尖(里)都是。指甲是nail,釘子也是,也叫fingernail,He is witty to the fingernails是說渾身都是機(jī)智,機(jī)智都跑到指甲里頭去了,連指甲里都有機(jī)智。
My fingers itch to box his ears是手癢得想打他一個(gè)耳光,My fingers are itching to do it是"躍躍欲試",也是中文中"食指大動(dòng)""技癢"一類的意思。have a finger in the pie是"染指"、"參與",look through one's fingers at是假裝看不見(從指頭縫中偷看),finger alphabet是"手勢字母",是聾子啞巴用的。
大拇指是thumb,童話里有一個(gè)Tom Thumb,任何小東西矮東西也叫Tom Thumb,喜歡吮大拇指叫thumb-sucker。thumb one's nose是一種做鬼臉。你在路上,若看到有人,伸大拇指攔車,這種動(dòng)作就叫thumb(也叫hitch-hike),這種人就叫thumb-pusher(也叫hitch-hiker),thumber,就是揩油搭便車的。說這個(gè)人笨手笨腳的,常用His fingers are all thumbs,十個(gè)指頭全跟大拇指一樣,不是完蛋了嗎?
食指是index finger,index,forefinger,書的"索引"也叫index。
中指是middle finger,middle是"中間"的意思。
無名指是right finger,尤其是指左手的,ring是戒指,key ring是鑰匙環(huán)。
小指是little finger,說"玩弄?jiǎng)e人于股(大腿)掌(手心)之上",英文則是He has a remarkable talent for twisting people around his little finger,這turn(twist)around one's little finger是成語,要記住。
中文里的"屈指可數(shù)"翻成英文是can count on the fingers(of a hand),"指不勝屈"是too many to count(on the fingers),打棒球時(shí),若老是接不住球,這種人叫"奶油指頭"(butterfingers),奶油指頭跟十個(gè)指頭都是大拇指比起來,正好是"半斤八兩"(Tweedledum and Tweedledee)!
爸 爸 1973年10月28日夜