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辦公室最近來了一個新同事,Tony問起同部門的外籍同事這新人如何,外籍同事說,新人總是遲到:
“My patience is beginning to wear very thin.”
Tony覺得很奇怪,同事老是遲到,跟wearing thin,穿得很薄,有什麼關係?今天看看幾個wear相關,很傳神的用法。
1.wear thin
(X)穿很薄
(O)逐漸失去耐心/逐漸失去作用
Wear我們一般熟悉的用法是「穿著 」,但它還有另一層含意,是「磨損」。Wear thin就有「使用久了,越磨越薄」的意思。常用來指耐心,意思是「快失去耐心了」。
My patience is beginning to wear very thin. 我快沒耐心了。
Her standard excuse for being late was beginning to wear thin. 她遲到時常用的那個藉口已經開始不太管用了。
一件事經過了很久而有所耗損,就不再起作用,像一個笑話一講再講,變得不好笑了,這時可以說:
Tony, the joke is beginning to wear thin now - it's time to stop.
東尼,那個笑話現在已經不那麼好笑——別再講了。
2.wear two hats
(X)戴兩頂帽子
(O)身兼兩職
Wear two hats字面是「戴兩頂帽子」,是用來比喻「同時兼兩項工作」。例如:
He wears two hats, serving as the company's chief financial officer as well as its chief executive officer. 他身兼兩職,同時是公司的財務長和執行長。
3.the worse for wear
(X)很難穿
(O)很疲倦,没有精力的
Worse是bad的比較級,是指「很差的狀態」;而wear指「用久磨損」,在這裡當名詞,wear當名詞,大家比較不熟,先來看幾個例子:
This table is showing signs of wear. 這桌子開始顯得破舊了。
Wear又可從破舊進一步延伸為「耐用性、持久性」:
There is plenty of wear left in the machine. 這台機器還可用好長一段時間。
The worse for wear可以形容人,用來指「奔波勞累」:
She often comes home from work looking a little the worse for wear. 她下班回家常常顯得有點兒疲倦。
也可以指物品「破舊不堪」:
His car looks a bit the worse for wear. It must have been used for a long time. 他的車子看來有點殘舊。這車子肯定用了很長時間。
Wear 誤區補充
1.wear vs put on
Wear和put on中文裡都是「穿」,很多人會搞混。
Wear是「穿著」,指穿著的狀態;put on是「穿上」,是穿上這個短暫動作。比較一下:
She is wearing a simple black dress. 她穿著一襲素淨的黑色長裙。
She put on a blue skirt and went out. 她穿上一件藍色的裙子後出去了。
2.多穿一點
(X)Wear more clothes.
(O)Please keep yourself warm.
天冷時,我們會叫人「多穿一點」,英文直譯成wear more clothes。老外雖然也懂,但就文法上來說,就是錯的。Wear是一種狀態,指一直持續性的動作,意思是「穿著」,不是「穿上」。Wear more clothes意思是「穿著更多衣服」,意思不通。文法上要通,可以用大家熟悉的put on或wrap up:
Put on more clothes. / Put on extra layers.
更常見的說法,請人多穿衣服,其實是叫人注意保暖:
Keep yourself warm.
Keep warm.
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