【翻译笔记】《围城》英译选句 - 拖泥带水
原文:
翻译关键词:拖泥带水,脸飞红,靠得住
Mouthing Cantonese Mandarin, he said in a jumbled roundabout way, "Mr. Fang, I found these just now while making your bed." Miss Pao flushed crimson and her big eyes seemed about to pop out of their sockets. Mortified, Fang cursed himself for being so stupid as not to have checked his bed when he got up. He pulled out three hundred francs from his pocket and said to Ah Lix, "Here! Now give me back those things." Ah Lix thanked him, adding that he was most dependable and would certainly keep his mouth shut. (美 Jeanne Kelly, Nathan K.Mao <译> –Fortress Besieged)
翻译笔记:
拖泥带水
——jumbled 乱七八糟的,混乱的;roundabout 迂回的,绕道的
——文中的解释,相对来说,理解起来比较容易,就是说一个人说话很混乱,绕来绕去的拐弯抹角。其实简单来说,就是“拖泥带水”的意思。
其实还有另外简单的解释messy, sloppy, slovenly,单词的解释比较容易,可是相比文中解释,就会来得不那么的生动有趣。大家可以自己选择如何来使用。
You can't say in a jumbled roundabout way. If you love her, please tell her.
你不能拖泥带水的,如果你爱她,请告诉她。