Green-Eyed Monster

嫉妒

The evil Iago plants doubts in Othello`s mind about his wife`s faithfulness, while advising him, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on." (Othello, Act 3, Scene 3)

邪恶的伊阿古让奥赛罗对妻子的忠心起了疑心,提醒他说,“噢,大人,要小心嫉妒之心!那可是一只绿眼的妖魔,它惯于耍弄爪下的猎物。”(《奥赛罗》,第3幕第3场)

In a Pickle

处于困境

In The Tempest, King Alonso asks his jester, Trinculo, "How camest thou in this pickle?" And the drunk Trinculo – who has indeed gotten into trouble – responds "I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last ..." (Act 5, Scene 1)

在《暴风雨》中,那不勒斯国王阿朗索问他的弄臣特林鸠罗,“你怎么让自己到这般境地了?”的确深陷困境且已烂醉的特林鸠罗回答说:“我自从上次参见过您之后就一直处于这般境地了…”(第5幕第1场)

One theory has it that the phrase in a pickle entered English from an old Dutch expression that translates as something like "sit in the pickle".

有一种说法认为in a pickle这个短语来源于一个古代的荷兰语表达,类似于“坐在咸菜缸”里这样一个说法。

Love Is Blind

爱是盲目的

This phrase has more than one meaning: we overlook flaws in those we love (that`s good), but love can blind us to serious issues (that`s bad).

这个短语的意思是:我们会忽略我们爱的人身上的缺点(这点不错);爱会让我们忽视一些严重的问题(这就不好了)。

In The Merchant of Venice, Jessica is shy about her beloved Lorenzo seeing her disguised as a boy, but recognizes that it won`t affect his love for her, saying, "But love is blind and lovers cannot see / The pretty follies that themselves commit ..." (Act 2, Scene 6)

在《威尼斯商人》中,杰西卡不好意思让深爱的罗伦佐看到她伪装成一个男孩,不过也意识到这并不妨碍他爱她,她说,“可爱情是盲目的,爱侣们看不到他们自己犯下的那些美丽又愚蠢的错误…”(第2幕,第6场)

Salad Days

一个人的青春年少时光

In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra recalls her relationship with Julius Caesar that occurred during, "My salad days, / When I was green in judgment...." (Act 1, Scene 5)

在《安东尼与克莉奥佩特拉》中,克莉奥佩特拉回忆起她与凯撒的那一段感情在“我青春年少的时光,我还不太会看人的时候…”(第1幕第5场)

Originally, English speakers used salad days with Cleopatra`s meaning: a time of youthful inexperience or indiscretion. These days, however, it usually means "an early flourishing period" – in other words, a heyday.

最初,英语使用者只用salad days表示克莉奥佩特拉所说的“青春、稚嫩的时光”。不过现在,这个短语通常表示“鼎盛时期”。

Wear My Heart on My Sleeve

公开表达感情

Discussing his planned betrayal of Othello, the villain Iago says, "But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at: I am not what I am." (Othello, Act 1, Scene 1)

在说到对奥赛罗的背叛计划时,邪恶的伊阿古说,“可是我会敞开心扉,让鸟儿随意翻啄:我并不是你们看到的我。”(《奥赛罗》,第1幕第1场)

There`s the Rub

这就是问题所在

In Hamlet`s famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, "ay, there`s the rub" is the tormented prince`s acknowledgement that death may not end his difficulties because the dead may perhaps still be troubled by dreams. (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1)

在《哈姆雷特》那句著名的“生存或者死亡”独白中,“唉,这就是问题所在”表示饱受折磨的王子认识到,死亡并不能结束他的痛苦,因为死人可能仍然会被梦境困扰。(《哈姆雷特》,第3幕第1场)

Cruel to Be Kind

要想善良,必先残忍;忠言逆耳

"I must be cruel only to be kind; / Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind," says the tormented Hamlet. He has just mistakenly killed Polonius, and it`s clear that he doesn`t know how bad things are going to get. (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4)

饱受折磨的哈姆雷特说:“要想善良,必先残忍,坏事开了头,更糟糕的还在后面。”他刚刚误杀了波洛尼厄斯,而且很明显他根本不知道事情会糟糕到什么程度。(《哈姆雷特》,第3幕第4场)

Wild Goose Chase

复杂又无果的追寻或搜索;徒劳无果

In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio likens the rapid exchange of jokes between Romeo and himself to the cross-country horse race of Shakespeare`s time, known as the wild goose chase, in which any number of riders tried to keep up with and accurately follow the lead rider`s course:

在《罗密欧与朱丽叶》中,马库修将他和罗密欧之间机智的笑话比拼比做莎士比亚时期的跨境赛马,即“追野鹅”,比赛中所有骑手都要尽力追上并精准跟随在骑手领袖的阵型中:

"Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou / hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I / have in my whole five." (Act 2, Scene 4)

“不行啊,如果咱们俩的智商比拼像追野鹅那样的话,我就完蛋了,因为你任何一个智慧阵型中的野鹅都比我全部5个阵型里的多。”(第2幕第4场)

Dogs of War

战争的恐惧之处

In Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1, a grief-stricken Mark Antony predicts that the instability following Caesar`s murder will result in civil war: "Cry `havoc!` And let slip the dogs of war!" ("Cry havoc" was the military order for soldiers to seize plunder from an enemy.)

在《凯撒大帝》第3幕第1场中,悲伤过度的马克•安东尼预言称,凯撒大帝被谋杀后的不稳定局势会导致内战:“下令抢劫!让战争的恐惧溜走吧!”(Cry havoc是军队中的命令用语,指下令让士兵从敌人手中抢掠。)

Strange Bedfellows

不可能结盟的两个人;同床异梦

When Trinculo seeks shelter from a storm under the cloak of a creature he`s very unsure about – he wonders if it`s a man or a fish – he comments "misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows." (The Tempest, Act 2, Scene 2)

特林鸠罗在一个他不知为何物的生物的斗篷下躲避暴风雨时,他不知道那是个人还是条鱼,他说:“处于悲惨境地,人可以跟任何东西结成联盟。”(《暴风雨》,第2幕第2场)